Judgement Day  Rewritten
by Penny Shepard
Summary: This is not part of my continuous series, just a story that's been rattling round in my mind for a while. Jenny is killed in the diner in the Mojave Desert.  How does Penny cope?  And when things don't add up, is Jenny really dead?
1. Chapter 1

Jenny sat in the diner and watched out of the window, waiting for the arrival of Svetlana's hit men. Her heart pounded beneath her rib cage and her mouth felt dry with fear, although she hid it well. She always knew that this moment would come one day, the moment when she had to confront the mistake she'd made almost ten years before.

Moments later the arrival of an SUV marked the start of serious bloodshed that would erupt several seconds later; bloodshed that would change the team's lives forever.

Back in DC Abby, Penny and McGee sat in the bullpen waiting for news from Gibbs, Tony or Ziva. Abby paced frantically and rambled non-stop about all the things that could have happened to her friends that could be stopping them from calling. She only stopped briefly when Ducky arrived.

'Am I interrupting something?' He asked inquisitively.

'Just Abby's nervous breakdown.' McGee replied, receiving a glare from his young Gothic friend.

'Relax Abs; surely nothing bad could have happened to them, otherwise we'd have heard about it by now.' Penny replied as she sat on the edge of McGee's desk, her feet resting against her chair.

Almost as soon as she said it Ducky's phone began to ring. Abby got all excited and almost grabbed the phone from his hands as he showed her the name on display.

'It's for me.' He said to her as he pulled it away from her grasp and towards his ear. 'Jethro?' He said in his form of greeting, but was met by silence on the other end. 'I know I typically dominate our conversations Jethro, but giving that you called me…' He said before he was cut off by Gibbs.

'Jenny's dead. Yesterday.' Was all Gibbs managed to say, the pain evident in his voice. Ducky was also stunned.

'But how?' He replied, keeping his tone low so that the others didn't hear.

'She was murdered. Fire fight.' Gibbs replied irritably.

'Tony and Ziva?' Ducky asked, hoping there were no more casualties, unsure if they could cope with loosing anyone else.

'Not involved.' He said, only managing to say short sentences at a time.

'What can I do?' Ducky said with determination.

'Four bodies are on their way to DC.' Gibbs said.

'Is one of them…?' Ducky began to say, but was unable to finish his sentence.

'No. SecNav and Assistant Director Vance have ordered the autopsy to be carried out here in LA by another ME. Something about personal conflict.' Gibbs explained, as Ducky heard a car door slam in the background.

'Tell McGee, tell Abby, I'm going to need them. I also need you to tell Penny, but Duck…break it to her gently, and tell her that there's a small aircraft already on standby to fly her out when she's ready.' Gibbs explained.

'Jethro…'

'Yeah Duck, I know…' Gibbs replied before Ducky could offer him words of comfort and sympathy.

Abby, Penny and McGee watched the ME as he ended his conversation. They already knew something was wrong by his posture and body language, but when they saw the look on his face, they instantly knew that it meant that they'd lost a team member. They all braced themselves as McGee asked the question that none of them wanted to know the answer to.

'Who?' He asked simply.

Penny looked at Ducky in anticipation, her hands clasped together in front of her face like in prayer.

'Please don't be Jenny…Please don't be Jenny…please don't be Jenny…' She whispered repeatedly in hope, but was devastated by Ducky's next words.

'Oh Penny, I am so sorry.' He said to her, the pain and sympathy evident in his voice and by his expression.

Penny was stunned by his words, and was unable to say anything. Luckily for her she was standing in between Abby and McGee as she felt her knees buckle from under her. They both grabbed her by the elbow and guided her back down onto the desk and kept hold of her for a few moments. She opened and closed her mouth a couple of times, stammering as she tried to speak.

'H…h…how Ducky?' She said, her face going ghostly white.

Ducky paused before speaking, unsure what to say to her. Finally he realised to tell her the truth, knowing her well enough to know not to try and shelter her from it as she wouldn't thank him for it later.

'She's been murdered. I'm not sure of the exact details, but Jethro said that there was a fire fight.' He explained, and Penny nodded a couple of times before rushing off in the direction of the ladies bathroom.

She made it to the sinks just in time as she emptied the contents of her stomach, her distress being released all at once. Abby, Ducky and McGee all followed her in, with Ducky pointing out to a reluctant McGee that now was not the time to adhere to the trivialities of the signage on the door.

They walked in to find that Penny had been violently sick, crying and was in great distress. Abby went to her immediately and held her close, trying to fight against her own tears and support her friend. Ducky soothingly rubbed circles on her back, and McGee passed her some tissue, for which she was truly grateful.

'I d…don't understand…' She sobbed before taking a breath. '…where were Tony and Ziva? Th…they were supposed to protect her.' She struggled to say through her sobs, barely making herself heard coherently.

'I don't know my dear. But what I do know is that Jethro has arranged for a helicopter to transport you to the location whenever you are ready. Hopefully he'll have some answers for you then.' Ducky explained as Penny's sobs quietened.

She slowly nodded her head and they all made their way back out into the squad room, where she grabbed her things, said goodbye to Abby and McGee and was escorted out by Ducky. He took her to the aircraft that was waiting for her as Gibbs had instructed.

Penny felt numb for the entire flight, unable to find the words to speak. Normally she was bubbly and chatty, but today she felt as if her world had just crumbled beneath her, and her voice had gone along with it. She was in such a daze that she didn't notice how long the flight took, or that they'd landed in LA. The first thing she noticed was Gibbs standing in front of her on the tarmac of a private runway.

As she got out she lunged instinctively into Gibbs's arms, no longer able to shed any more tears, but desperately seeking his comfort.

'Come on.' Gibbs said as he led her to his car.

Penny remained silent for the entirety of the journey out to the diner. She looked at the shabby exterior of the run down, abandoned building, and couldn't believe that her mom had died there. She saw Tony and Ziva outside, lifting boxes and detailing evidence from inside. In that moment all she felt was anger and resentment for two people whom she considered to be her friends. She couldn't understand how or believe they'd let this happen.

'I said to wait.' She heard Gibbs say to them, but she wasn't really paying attention.

'And I said not to.' Leon Vance said as he appeared in the doorway, snapping off his bloodied latex gloves. 'This is my investigation.' He added.

Vance glanced in Penny's direction and then looked questionably at Gibbs.

'Leon, Jenny was her mother; she has a right to be here, to understand what happened and hopefully to be able to grieve and move on.' Gibbs said to him quietly, so that he was the only one who could hear.

'I'm sorry Jethro.' Leon said as he brushed passed him, closely followed by Penny.

As she entered the guts of the diner, Penny tried to contain the gasp that was desperately trying to escape her lips. She looked around the dark, dingy space with disgust, and then saw the blood stains on the floor, along with the evidence markers and the jars on the counter. She hugged herself as she tried to push back the tears that were stinging her eyes.

'D…do you know what happened?' She asked, her voice croaky from lack of speech, her throat dry and scratchy.

'The first two shooters came through the front door, the other two came from over there.' Leon said as he pointed to the two entry points. 'She stood here, she got off the first shots; shooter number one never even fired his weapon. Now she took heavy fire after that; one in the shoulder, one in the arm. Then she started moving this way, and the other two went in through the side door, the second shooter went down there. She dropped to her knee, she fired three more times. Which leaves the fourth shooter. We know how that ended.' Leon explained as he talked and walked them both through the crime scene, and the last moments of Jenny's life.

Penny listened to what was said as she looked round, her eyes falling finally on the tag simply labelled "Shepard". When she saw it she felt her heart skip a beat. She was hoping that she would wake up at any minute and discover that it's all been a horrific nightmare; that she'd go through to her mom's room and find her sat in front of her dressing table, brushing her hair and doing her make-up. Instead she found herself still living the nightmare, and was still fighting to make sense of what was going on.

'Um…will you just…' She began to say quietly as she excused herself from the room, no longer able to control the bile rising into her throat.

Gibbs watched her as she left, toying with the idea of going after her or leaving her alone for a few moments. He decided to go with the latter option, choosing to speak to his agents to establish why they had failed to protect their protection detail; but before he could leave Leon had just one more thing to say to him.

'She put up a hell of a fight.' He said simply in an attempt to offer words of comfort.

Gibbs couldn't look at the man in front of him, but quietly said the words that plagued him.

'Yeah well not good enough.' He said before exiting the dark diner, into the bright sunlight of the Mojave Desert.

He collard Ziva and Tony who were knelt over a setting plaster cast. Ziva approached him first, Tony somewhat more reluctantly.

'What you got?' He asked without looking at her.

'I am sorry Gibbs, we are sorry.' She said with the guilt evident on her face and in her voice.

'What you got?' He repeated, slightly more forcefully than before, only this time it was Tony who answered.

'Not a lot. Tyre tracks are from a second vehicle…we're working on it.' He said, feeling down heartened by what little evidence they did have.

Gibbs just stared at the young agent in front of him, wondering how he could have allowed this to happen. Tony felt consumed by guilt and regret, and answered Gibbs unspoken question.

'We should have tailed her; Ziva…Ziva wanted to tail her.' He said.

'Yeah why didn't you?' Gibbs asked.

'We were given an order.' Ziva explained, trying to justify their actions to herself rather than to Gibbs.

'Uh huh and you followed it.' He replied.

'And now Jenny's dead.' Ziva said, her tone conveying a lot of her feelings.

Unbeknown to them Penny had been hovering in the background listening to their conversation. She walked angrily over to them, no longer able to control her anger or her feelings towards them.

'WHY DID YOU NOT FOLLOW HER TONY?' She shouted, causing all three of them to jump slightly.

'Penny I…' Tony began to reply before she cut him off again.

'I TRUSTED YOU TO PROTECT HER, AND YOU DIDN'T DO IT! I HOPE THE WOMAN YOU WENT CHASING THIS TIME WAS WORTH IT!' She said before walking off back towards Gibbs's car, slamming the door as she got in.

Tony felt even smaller and even guiltier than before, which he didn't think was possible.

'Think I should go talk to her boss?' He asked as he looked at Gibbs for some sense of direction and guidance.

'No Tony, I think she needs to be on her own for a while, and you two need to concentrate on finding her mom's killers.' Gibbs said tonelessly, giving Tony a look of disappointment that offered the younger man no comfort.

He walked back to his vehicle once Vance had spoken to them again, and he found Penny sat in the front seat crying ferociously, almost to the point where she was going to make herself ill. He opened the driver's side door and got in, rocking the car as he did so. He knew that nothing he could say or do was going to make any difference to how Penny felt, and he was consumed by his own sense of guilt in that moment. The only comfort he could give her was to wrap his arms round her, and pull her into a tight embrace.

Penny cried continuously into his shoulder, her sobs muffled as she buried her face into his jacket. Gibbs felt tears springing to his own eyes, finding Penny's grief overwhelming and infectious. He wasn't sure if he was mourning his own loss, or hers.

After a few minutes her sobs became quieter as her energy drained, and she slowly lifted her head from his chest to look at him. Her eyes were red and swollen, her cheeks tearstained. As Gibbs looked into her eyes he could see nothing but distress staring back at him.

'I want…to…see her Gibbs.' She said in between shaky breaths.

Gibbs sat still for a few moments as she watched him intently, before he slowly shook his head.

'No way Penny. I know she's your mom, but I want you to remember her the way she was, the way she was the last time you saw her alive. I want you to remember the last conversation you had with her, and not to have those last moments tainted by her death.' He said quietly but firmly.

She looked at him with understanding but was still determined to get her own way in one description or another.

'Can Ducky at least do her autopsy?' She asked calmly.

'The Secretary of the Navy has ordered that an ME within California do it. He doesn't want her case to be compromised in any way, which is why he doesn't want him to do it.' He explained softly, ensuring that she understood.

She would still have preferred it to be Ducky, knowing that he at least would treat her as a human being, and not like a lump of meat on an autopsy table. She at least needed to make sure that the ME who did her autopsy would treat her with the same courtesy and dignity she would have received from Ducky, and that she deserved.

'The ME, is he nice? Do you know him?' She asked.

'I've asked Ducky the same thing, and he has assured me that this guy is good, and will treat her with the respect she deserves.' He replied as he started up the engine.

Penny fell silent and laid back in her chair, a mixture of satisfaction and grief plaguing her emotions. The reality of the situation was really beginning to take its toll on her, the stress, grief and anguish playing with her emotions and racking her body with exhaustion. She fell silent for the rest of the journey away from that terrible place, but one question was still burning in the back of her mind; what was Jenny doing there?


	2. Chapter 2

Gibbs drove the vehicle in silence as Penny rested her forehead against the cool glass of the window. She had stopped crying, but her face now conveyed her exhaustion and distress. As a sign of affection and comfort he reached over and squeezed her hand resting on her knee. He was relieved to feel her squeeze back, although she did not look at him.

A few miles down the road Gibbs pulled into a gas station and began to fill the car with gas. A few seconds later another car sped into the other side of the pumps, and out climbed an older man, unshaven, with long scraggily hair and a gruff voice.

'You're late.' Gibbs said without looking at the man.

'Least of my problems.' Mike replied, with a subtle nod of his head to Gibbs, as he slammed his car door.

'Well I've got another one for you; Vance knows that there was someone else at the diner.' Gibbs explained.

'My tyre tracks?' He said in realisation, before turning his attentions back to the problem at hand. 'I'm not the only one with a problem. Jenny died protecting someone.' He added, and Gibbs gave a knowing nod in response.

Once both their vehicles were filled with gas, both men disappeared into the gas station to pay, leaving Penny sat in the car. She was desperate to find out exactly what Mike had meant by his last comment, hoping she might get some answers as to why her mom was now dead. A few moments later Gibbs got back into the car, turned on the ignition and began to pull out of the gas station and back onto the main road, all done in silence.

The twenty minute drive into town was done in silence as they both contemplated their problems. Penny knew that Gibbs was keeping something from her, she just wasn't sure what. Whatever it was though, she hoped she was about to get some answers at least, as Gibbs turned the vehicle left into a busy diner parking lot, and parked towards the back.

'Come on, you need to get something to eat.' He said to her without looking at her as he got out of the vehicle, clearly indicating that this was not an option, discussion or debate.

She did as she was told, for once, and followed him into the diner. Once he'd opened the doors and took a few steps in, he glanced around before his eyes fell on Mike. They walked over to him and he pulled out a chair for Penny next to him, with Gibbs sitting on her other side.

'Everything.' Gibbs said to him, making sure that he understood that Penny deserved to know.

Mike didn't look at either of them; instead he stared at his cup of coffee in front of him, carefully stirring its contents.

'She called me, two days ago; said she needed some help from outside the agency.' He explained.

Penny gave a small laugh of disbelief before slowly shaking her head.

'Another one of her ops?' She asked.

'One of yours.' Mike replied as he glanced fleetingly at Gibbs before turning back to his coffee. 'Europe.' He added.

Gibbs shifted in his chair uncomfortably, knowing exactly which op he was referring to, but pretended to know otherwise.

'Well I spent a lot of time in Europe, Mike.' He said as he finally looked at him.

'She wasn't specific.' He replied irritably before he drew his attention to Gibbs.

Penny smiled weakly, realising exactly which European op it was that was being referred to, the one that had spelt so much trouble for Jenny and Gibbs previously, but had now caused something that she could never have predicted.

'Paris.' She whispered quietly, almost barely audible. Gibbs gave a small smile in response, a laugh almost escaping him.

Mike looked furtively over his shoulders, lowering his voice even quieter than before and looked directly at Gibbs.

'What did I tell you about leaving those loose ends?' He said gruffly, annoyance in his voice.

'Not to.' Gibbs replied, remembering all the lessons Mike had taught him when he was his partner. 'We didn't.' He added firmly.

'Well you screwed the pooch somewhere. Decker's cover was blown; they found him, made it look like a heart attack.' Mike replied.

'They?' Penny asked, unsure as to what Mike meant.

'Decker's funeral, there was a guy named Vigo, came looking for a man, Oshimida.' Mike said which resulted in a sort of gasp from Gibbs, and a look of surprise and confusion from Penny.

'Oshimida? How did he know about that? And why did he use it?' She asked, resulting in more confusion for Gibbs.

'How do you know about that?' He asked her in hushed tones.

'Mom always told me that if anything happened to her, I was to go to you and tell you oshimida. Apparently you're supposed to know what it means, but I thought it was just some code word she made up.' Penny explained as she realised the significance.

'Oshimida does mean something Penny.' Gibbs replied as he glanced at Mike, unsure of what to say.

'Relax probie, classified went out the window two days ago.' Mike said as Gibbs exhaled deeply, and Penny just sat in silent confusion and frustration. 'I know oshimida was the code you used if your cover was compromised.' Gibbs winced at Mike's latter phrase, he still felt so confused about what was going on exactly.

'In Paris, nine years ago.' He replied shirtily.

'Yeah well Decker resurrected it.' Mike said and Gibbs shook his head in annoyance. 'When they found him, instead of giving you up, he sent you a warning, bought you guys some time.'

'Yeah well not enough, was it?' Penny said as she got up from her chair and excused herself from their company, heading to the restroom.

She couldn't get her head round anything that had happened within the last couple of days, and right at this moment in time she just wanted to be alone, to be able to wallow in self-pity and loathing of everything. She closed her eyes as she desperately tried to see her mom's face and hear the last conversation they had. The last conversation they had together was by phone the previous day, maybe hours or even minutes before her death. Penny had made the call to her, missing her mom and just wishing to speak to her, even if was only briefly. In hindsight Jenny had sounded under a lot of pressure, but with almost a melancholy tone to her voice. Penny smiled slightly as she remembered that her last words to her were, "I love you". It was a bittersweet moment.

After a while she unclicked the lock to her toilet cubical, washed her hands and left the restroom, finding Gibbs still sat where she'd left him, the only difference being that he was now alone.

'Where's Mike?' She asked him quietly and tonelessly.

'Gone. We'll be heading home shortly.' He replied simply as he drained the last of his coffee and nudged a sandwich in her direction.

'Thanks, but I'm…' Penny began to say before catching sight of Gibbs's glare at her.

'You need to eat something. Even if it's just a couple of mouthfuls.' He said persistently.

She smiled weakly at him as she did as she was instructed. She really didn't feel like eating anything, but she knew better than to try and argue with Gibbs. She picked up the sandwich and smiled when she realised it was her favourite filling. Tuna, red onion, salad and French mustard salad dressing. She sank her teeth into the soft bread, but found that it was tasteless as nothing was registering within her other than grief.

Gibbs indicated to the woman behind the counter for a container, and she passed him a plastic box in which he placed the rest of Penny's sandwich, which she had pushed away from her after taking a couple of bites.

'For later.' He said to her as he tapped her shoulder and led her back outside to the car.

As she got in beside him she tried to pluck up the courage to ask him one of the questions burning in her mind. She had so many questions running through her mind, and although she did want answers, she was too afraid to ask them, afraid of the answer she may receive.

'If you have a question, Penny, you can ask it you know.' Gibbs said as he turned the car left onto the main road.

'I don't understand how your Paris op links to Mom's…to her…to all this.' She said, unable to bring herself to be able to admit that Jenny was dead.

'Our op was to carry out three assassinations, a target each. Mike seems to think Jen was unable to go through with hers.' He explained, mentally posing a question to himself. 'Listen, can you phone McGee and give him this reference number? As him to try a trace it and work out what it is.'

Penny took the napkin with a series of numbers marked on it in Mike's handwriting. She knew better than to question Gibbs if he wasn't being forthcoming with the information. She took her phone from her pocket and dialled McGee's number.

'Penny? How are…' McGee began to say as he answered his phone before Penny cut him off.

'Have you got a pen McGee?' She asked quickly.

'Penny…' He attempted to say before Penny cut him off again, only more forcefully this time.

'Have you got a pen McGee?' She said.

'Nope, but I've got a keyboard.' He replied as he pulled his keyboard towards him.

Penny read out the numbers written on the napkin, and she heard his fingers tapping away on the keys as he wrote them down.

'And what is it?' He asked once he'd finished.

'No idea McGee.' She replied with a much softer tone than before.

'But you want me to find out?'

'Yeah.' She said.

'When are you guys due back?' He asked.

'We're on our way.' She replied before hanging up.

Gibbs drove them to the airport, returned his rental vehicle and arranged their flight back whilst Penny sat in the small coffee shop across from the departure lounge. She was tired and ached, emotionally and physically. After a period of about twenty minutes Gibbs returned to her and she pushed a cup of coffee towards him. He looked at her with gratitude without verbalising it, but also looked at her with concern.

He was worried that she wasn't talking about how she was feeling or about her mother's death. Having been there himself, he knew that it wasn't good for her to bottle up her feelings. They both remained silent as they sat staring into their drinks until their flight was called.

'Come on, that's us.' He said as he got up from the table, picking up her bag and jacket before helping her up and leading her to their departure gate.

She remained silent for the whole flight, including when they landed. He led her to his vehicle and she still didn't say anything.

'Let's get you home.' He said softly.

'No.' She said sharply, and Gibbs gave her a questioning look. 'I can't face going back their on my own.' She added as tears sprang to her eyes.

Gibbs nodded as he turned on the ignition, thankful of the opportunity to be able to keep a close eye on her. Once again they were on the road, only this time they were heading to his house. It marked the end of a very long and emotional day for them both, which in reality only marked the beginning.


	3. Chapter 3

The new day dawned and another day of investigating began for the team, with Tony and Ziva finally arriving home from California. They found McGee sat at his desk, his head in his free hand, and the phone in the other.

'NCIS, Naval Criminal…' He began to say, clearly not the first time in the conversation, the frustration evident in his voice. He took a big sigh as the person on the other end interrupted him, and he listened to what they had to say. 'Look I spoke with you earlier. You were supposed to send me four security tapes, you only sent me three. Thank you.' He said before he hung up with a sigh. 'I hate airport security.' He added to himself.

'That makes two of us.' Tony said as he entered the bullpen and placed his side arm on his desk.

'Rough flight?' McGee asked as Ziva joined them, and he sensed the tension in the air, but he received no response. He thought he'd try again and try to break the tension with some light humour. 'I see you two went swimming.'

It was a comment that an already agitated Tony took exception to. He slammed the drawer of his desk closed and stormed over to McGee's desk.

'What are you saying McGee?' He asked calmly, although his tone conveyed a lot of the guilt he felt.

Ziva feared a confrontation between the two friends and colleagues, and knew that this would not help the situation.

'No…I err…just mean that I saw the picture of Ziva by the pool.' He replied, a concerned look on his face.

'Say it…' Tony said quietly.

'Say what?' McGee asked in confusion.

'I screwed up. You can say it Probie.' Tony pushed just as Ziva joined them.

McGee looked at the senior agent and said the one thing that he needed to hear.

'Tony it was not your fault.'

'Thank you.' Ziva replied softly as she looked at Tony just as McGee's phone rang.

'McGee?' He answered without taking his eyes from Tony's. 'Sure, be right down boss.' He said before hanging up. 'Abby's lab.' He said to them both before they all headed towards the elevator.

Down in Abby's lab she paced frantically in front of Gibbs as grief clearly got to the usually bubbly Goth.

'I've barely had a chance to begin unpacking this stuff Gibbs, let alone process it. I don't have anything for you.' She said sounding unusually subdued as she placed several items onto the counter, before turning her attentions to another box.

'You will.' Gibbs said calmly.

'I will, and it will be my best work.' She said as she placed the box on the counter.

'It always is Abs.' Gibbs said in a fatherly tone.

'It's different this time; this time it's for the director, and for Penny. I want my very best work.' She said as she lifted out Jenny's blue and white shirt, which was now covered in blood, as tears began to form in her eyes. 'Oh Gibbs.' She said as she went to him for a hug.

Gibbs didn't say anything to her, but held her tightly to him. They were both so distracted that they didn't notice Penny come in. She walked up to Jenny's box, which was full of her clothing and personal belongings. The sight of her blood covered shirt made want to hurl, yet she smiled when she saw it.

'I once borrowed this without asking her, and I went to see my friend's baby. He was only a few months old at the time, and he vomited all down my front. When Jen found out she was so mad at me that I didn't think she would ever speak to me again. The ironic thing is she was worried it was ruined, and now look at it.' Penny explained as both Gibbs and Abby looked at her with sympathy.

Abby pulled away from Gibbs and stood in front of Penny, her eyes still full of tears and her voice sounded shaky.

'She was always such a snappy dresser you know, like classy. But I never told her that. Why didn't I tell her that? She'd have liked that. She would have smiled. You can't wait with stuff like that because you never know what's going to happen.' She said as she rubbed her hands together. 'I like the way you dress Gibbs, its masculine and spruce, always with a jacket.' She said which resulted in a smile from both Gibbs and Penny. 'See even you smiled.'

Gibbs looked at Abby, who looked a little less upset than before, as she turned her attentions to Penny.

'Penny you're always really funky with how you dress; always wearing bright colours that most people wouldn't even consider, but you look so stylish and unique.' She said to her friend as she hugged her, just as Tony, Ziva and McGee joined them.

She let go of Penny and rushed up to Tony and threw her arms around his neck.

'Tony you're business, but after hours. It's nice.' She said which resulted in a slightly confused look from the agent.

'Ziva, you kick ass and you look so good doing it.' She said as she then moved over to Ziva and also gave her a bone crushing hug, before she moved on to McGee.

'McGee…' She said before pausing, dusting his shoulder lightly, but unable to come up with anything. 'Oh McGee.' She said as she hugged him.

'Boss I…' Tony began to say before Gibbs cut him off.

'It's not your fault.' Gibbs replied, which finally offered Tony some of the comfort he needed.

Tony was surprised not to receive another outburst of anger from Penny, especially since Gibbs just said those words in front of her, but instead she chose to say nothing.

'There's only one thing we need to be concerned about.' Gibbs said to his team once they were all gathered.

'Finding the director's killer.' Ziva said.

'Shall I call Vance?' Abby said, which resulted in silence amongst the team as they all looked at her. 'A unanimous no.' She added when she caught their small glares.

'Was this a hit?' McGee asked.

'Well it was personal, had to be, why else would she have brought along Franks?' Tony replied.

'She died trying to end something.' Gibbs added cryptically, and his team looked at him with confusion.

'Does that mean the "something" is still happening?' Ziva asked, but before Gibbs could reply, a voice at the door made them all jump and look up.

'That's a good question David.' Vance said as he looked at the team gathered in the lab.

Vance looked at Gibbs and inclined his head slightly, indicating he wanted him to follow him outside. Gibbs nodded and followed him out of the lab to the elevator.

'Why wasn't I invited to the party?' Vance asked as the elevator doors opened.

'The team lost a member Leon, hardly a party.' Gibbs said calmly, but the annoyance was evident in his voice. 'They're also trying to help one team member with the loss of her mother, may I remind you of that.' He added.

The rest of their conversation was lost to the team as the doors closed behind them, which sent a shiver up Penny's spine. She could feel that there was something that both Mike and Gibbs knew that clearly Vance didn't, but she could tell that he suspected something wasn't right. She left the team in the lab and walked into the ballistics half, grabbing hold of Bert on her way passed. He often held some form of comfort for Abby in her times of need, and she hoped that maybe he would give her the same comfort. She watched as the rest of the team dispersed one by one, and she continued to rack her brains over the last conversation she had with Jenny. She was trying to remember any details in the background that may have given her any indication as to what Gibbs was not telling her.

'Pen are you OK?' Abby asked as she perched herself on the side of the desk and looked at her friend.

'I don't know Abs. I can't shake the feeling that there's a much bigger picture to all of this, something that I'm not seeing but my gut is telling me there's more.' She explained.

'Do you want to talk abou…' Abby began to say before Penny shot up from her seat and began walking towards the door.

'I should go up and see if they need any help.' She said as she turned to face her friend.

'Yeah I guess I should get to work on the forensics.' Abby replied as she turned round to face the boxes and their contents.

The team were already gathered round the TV screen when Penny arrived and stood next to Gibbs, just as she saw a woman getting into a cab.

'Viggo wasn't travelling alone.' McGee said as they watched the woman get into the same cab as Viggo Drantyev.

'Run it back.' Vance said sharply as McGee pressed a few buttons on his keyboard.

The video on display ran back until Vance told him to stop. Penny glared at the photograph of the woman now displayed on the screen, and was about to say something when she felt a tug on her hand. She looked up to see Gibbs subtly move his head towards the elevator and she followed him away from the group.

He led her down into the evidence garage without saying anything more to her, until he handed her the keys to his car.

'I want you to go to my car and get in, wait for me there. I'll be back in a minute.' He said before the doors opened and he disappeared, not giving her the chance to question him.

She huffed with impatience, fed up with being kept in the dark, but she did as she was told and pressed the button on the elevator for the lower floor to the parking garage.

A few minutes later Gibbs joined her in the car, a clear plastic bag sticking out slightly from his jacket pocket. He started the engine and pulled his seatbelt around him before setting off.

'Gibbs where are we going?' Penny asked him with confusion, still very much unsure of what was going on.

'Yours. There's something there that we have to do.' He replied before silence descended between them once more.

The journey took them approximately thirty minutes and for the first time in her life Penny was not happy to be home. Without her mom there the Georgetown home looked barren, and the idea of it being empty tortured her. She hated the idea that from now on this was what her life was going to be like, returning home to an empty house. The thought brought tears to her eyes once again, but she pushed them back as she exited the car.

As she unlocked the front door, the house conveyed much of what she was feeling, dark and empty. She turned on the light to the hallway, and it cast an eerie glow into the open study. Gibbs walked straight into the study, switching on a couple of the lamps as he walked passed. Penny stood at the doorway trying to build up the courage to enter.

Ever since she was eleven years old she'd been terrified to enter that room. It had been the room in which her father had shot himself in, the room where she had found his lifeless body, and ever since that fateful night she'd been too afraid to go inside. But this time was different; this time she had to go inside for her mom.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes as she took the first step in. As she took a few more steps in she tried to remember some of her happier times in the room. She remembered how her father would often sit behind his desk, and Jenny would sit with her beside the fireplace drinking hot chocolate. The memory made her smile slightly, but under the circumstances it did not make her feel any better.

She sat in the chair in the corner by the fire facing Gibbs, and he made himself comfortable behind her desk. Neither had said anything to the other since leaving the naval base, and the silence was beginning to really get to her.

'You know something Gibbs, Jen tried for years to get me over my fear of this room, but no matter how she tried it never worked. Guess she got her way in the end though huh?' She said as she held her hands up to show she was there.

Gibbs smirked at her but didn't reply. He was hoping that she might start opening up more, but he was concerned that Penny was trying to distance herself from her grief, noticing that she had started referring to her mom as Jen.

'Gibbs…I don't know how to do this.' She said to him quietly after several minutes of silence.

'Do what?' He asked.

'Say goodbye. I don't even know what to do next. I know I'm going to have to arrange her funeral, but how do I do that? How do I even begin to comprehend any of this?' She said as a couple of tears traced their way down her cheeks.

'I know Penny, but you've got all of us to help you. And I know that right now you need someone to blame, but it really isn't Tony and Ziva's fault.' Gibbs replied with a fatherly tone.

'I know that Gibbs. I know what Jen is like…was like. She wouldn't have given them much choice in the matter.' She replied as she wiped her face free of tears. 'I remember when she used to go away on her undercover ops with you, I used to pray every night that she'd be safe, but in my heart I always knew you'd protect her.' She added.

'No matter where we were or what we were doing, she always had to make sure that you were safe, and that she would always return to you. In fact, she gave me this to give to you in the event that one day she might not return to you.' He said as he pulled an envelope from his pocket and handed it to her.

Penny took it from him and glanced at it with confusion as she turned it over in her own hands. She took note of her name on the front, carefully written in Jenny's handwriting. She carefully prised open the top, and pulled out a letter.

_Dear Penny_

_If you're reading this then, I'm afraid to say, it means that I'm no longer with you; but I want you to be brave and try to move on the best way you know how._

_I need you to know that I will always love you, and that I'm sorry that I won't get to see you grow up to become the beautiful, smart young woman that I know you'll become. So work hard at whatever you do and make me prouder than I already am._

_I've already given Jethro strict instructions that if you ever need anything that you've to go to him, and I want you to promise me that you'll stick to that. I know he'll always keep you safe._

_Until we meet again_

_All my Love_

_Jen xxx_

Penny read the words over and over, the first half making her sob, and the second half making her laugh. She traced her mom's handwriting with her finger, picturing her writing it.

'She still loved you, you know?' Penny said to him without taking her eyes off the letter in her hands, and Gibbs didn't reply. His silence made her look at him after a couple of moments. 'After she left you in Paris she was sent to Spain, but just before that she came home and was so distant in those couple of weeks that I was beginning to think she'd left her head in Paris; but it was her who said a few weeks after that, when I joined her in Spain, that it wasn't her head she'd left in Paris but her heart.'

Gibbs continued to look at her in silence, but sensed that he was going to have to formulate a reply shortly.

'If I ask you a question will you answer it honestly?' She asked him.

Gibbs thought for a moment, not entirely sure where she was going with this.

'I'll do my best.' He replied.

'Do you still love her?' She asked him bluntly as she folded her letter back up.

It was a question he'd asked himself almost every day he spent in Jenny's company since she arrived as director three years ago. He knew the answer, but had always been too afraid to voice it.

'Yeah, yeah I do and I always will. I wish things had worked out differently between us after Paris, but I guess it just wasn't meant to be.' He answered her truthfully.

She was about to quiz him more when the bloodied cell phone in front of him began to ring, the caller display saying "caller ID blocked". Gibbs smiled slightly before answering.

'Yeah?' He answered as he flicked it open.

'Think of a reason why I should personally throw the book at you for hindering a federal enquiry.' Vance said on the other end of the phone, resulting in a smirk from Gibbs.

'Because you want this to go away.' He replied.

'Where the hell are you?' Vance said impatiently.

'Not far.' Penny heard Gibbs reply cryptically and it was then that she realised who it was he was speaking to.

'Franks with you?' Leon asked.

'Should he be?' Gibbs replied, a small smirk playing on his lips.

'If he's not then he's on his way to Mexico with Decker's insurance policy.' Leon replied, which resulted in the smirk that had previously been faltering on Gibbs's lips to appear. 'Don't smile.' He added forcefully.

Penny sat and listened to Gibbs as he spoke to Vance before he pulled the phone away from his ear and looked at the caller ID, which now flashed Svetlana's alias's name Natasha.

'I'm going to have to put you on hold.' He said to Vance before pressing a button and cut him off.

Penny sat and listened to Gibbs's new conversation, and felt frustrated that out of the two additional languages she spoke one of those was not Russian.

'What's going on?' She asked him when he hung up.

'Svetlana's on her way over. So I need you to be ready in that corner with your side arm.' Gibbs instructed her as he placed his own firearm on the desk, and approached Jenny's bourbon collection.

He poured himself a small glass, and sat facing the front door in quiet anticipation. Neither of them said anything for the next twenty minutes, until the front door creaked open. Gibbs poured himself another glass of bourbon, distracting Svetlana from Penny's presence in the darkened corner.

'Hello Natasha, or do you prefer Svetlana?' He asked as she held a gun in his direction. 'This is not business, this is personal.' He added when he turned to face her.

'It was you who killed Anatoli?' She asked him, the emotion, anger and hurt evident in her body language and voice.

'What was he to you?' Gibbs asked her quietly as Penny listened carefully.

'Everything.' Svetlana replied, her strong Russian accent evident in her voice.

Penny stood up and raised her own gun at the older woman standing in front of her.

'And the woman you had killed two days ago was everything to me.' She said as Svetlana turned to face her. 'Why did you have to kill her?' She added as she tried desperately to control her emotions.

'Because I was desperate to get the bastard who took Anatoli from me.' Svetlana replied more calmly.

'Why now?' Gibbs asked, forcing Svetlana to face him again.

'It's taken me until now to find you.' She said shakily, the anger she felt evident.

'The night he died a woman came to kill you, what happened?' He asked her calmly, and Svetlana gave a very small laugh.

'She couldn't do it.' She replied rather smugly, and she noticed Gibbs glance at his weapon on the desk.

'Can you?' He asked her as a brief standoff occurred between the two, before two loud shots were heard.

Svetlana gave a small scream as she was shot, before falling forward onto the coffee table in front of her, shattering it under her weight. Penny shook as she lowered her freshly fired weapon, and glanced from Gibbs to Mike who now stood in the doorway. Mike had been the one who fired the second shot at the same time as Penny.

'I don't understand Gibbs. She said that Jen couldn't go through with it, but she was a natural with a gun, taught me everything I know.' Penny said as she re-holstered her gun.

'Not back then.' Gibbs replied simply as he checked Svetlana for a pulse.

'What changed?' Mike asked gruffly.

'Me.' Gibbs replied irritably. 'One thing I had to accept, none of that came natural to her.' He added.

After a few minutes silence Penny finally spoke, offering the first bit of humour they'd heard in the last three days.

'That was my mom's coffee table; she spent a fortune on that thing.' She said with a small smile, and both Gibbs and Mike laughed. 'What are we going to do about her?'

'That's a good question Special Agent Shepard.' Leon said as he entered the Georgetown house.

'It was sanctioned.' Mike offered in way of explanation.

'Nine years ago.' Leon replied, irritating Penny with his tooth pick.

'Yeah well she was about to shoot Gibbs, it was self-protection.' She explained defensively.

Vance didn't say any more, but he took out his phone and made a couple of calls.

After a few hours Svetlana's body was collected discreetly by Ducky. Gibbs collected the pieces of the table and assured Penny he could fix it. They had all agreed on their stories involving Jenny's death, insuring it went down on her death certificate as an "accident at home". Now all Penny had to do was worry about giving her mom a fitting memorial and beautiful funeral.


	4. Chapter 4

Penny admired her reflection in the mirror, smoothing out her newly bought black suit. She tied her shoulder length red hair back with a black band, before once again ensuring she was presentable. She glanced at the photograph displayed proudly on her dressing table, and thought about why she wanted to look her best today of all days.

The photograph showed her and her mom, taken a couple of years ago. Jenny was holding on tightly to her daughter, and they were both smiling widely, happy to be in each other's company.

A knock on her bedroom door brought her out of her thoughts, and she took a deep breath as Gibbs entered her room.

'Are you ready to go?' He asked her.

'I…um…I don't know if I can do this Gibbs.' She replied as she turned to face him, her face conveying the pain she was in.

'Earlier in the week you said that you were upset by the fact that you didn't get the chance to say goodbye; this is your last chance to do it properly.' He explained with a soft, warm and comforting tone.

'I know, but I don't want to say goodbye Gibbs. Saying goodbye means that she really isn't coming home, and I'm not sure if I'm ready to handle that.' She explained, throwing her head back ever so slightly as she tried to push back her tears that were pricking her eyes.

Gibbs held out his arms to her and pulled her closely to him when she entered his embrace. To look at them anyone would have thought that they were a father and daughter, grieving the loss of her mother together and trying to offer each other comfort. In reality Gibbs was the closest thing she had to a father since her own had died when she was so young.

'I know I'm a poor substitute, but you will always have me. I will always look after you, and that was a promise I made to your mom.' He explained with a small smile, resulting in a very small laugh from her. 'Come on Penny, we need to get going now, car's waiting out front.' He added.

Penny nodded her acknowledgement and followed him out to the black town car that was parked outside the front of her Georgetown house. She was thankful to have Gibbs with her; he'd been so very supportive over the last couple of weeks, and she counted herself lucky to have him there. Her relationship with Tony and Ziva was still very strained, with her feeling guilty for the way she had treat them, but still feeling let down by them.

She remained quiet for the whole journey to the church where the funeral ceremony was to take place. Jenny's casket had been taken there the previous night, and was now laid in front of the alter, surrounded by several beautiful bouquets of flowers. Gibbs sat in the pew behind Jenny's family, joining the rest of the team who were already there. Penny took her place in the front pew where she joined her mother Sarah, and her eldest sister Heather with her family.

Sarah had taken Jenny's death very hard, and the distress of the situation could be clearly seen furrowed into the lines on her face. She was only sixty-seven, but the circumstances had aged her considerably.

As the service began Penny didn't really pay any attention to what was being said. The Secretary of the Navy stood up in front of the casket and told the congregation of Jenny's achievements politically and for the agency. Although she was incredibly proud of everything that her mom had accomplished, Penny hated that Davenport was talking about them, and about Jenny, as if it was just another business meeting. There was no feeling, no warmth and definitely no comfort.

After a couple of other people had stood up and given their account of Jenny's part in their life, it came round to Penny. She'd chosen to read out a poem that Gibbs had given her to give her inspiration and comfort. It had been one he had read several times himself over the years when he thought about Shannon and Kelly. She stood up, cleared her throat and began to read the words on the paper in front of her.

'Do not stand at my grave and weep, by Mary E. Frye.

Do not stand at my grave and weep  
>I am not there. I do not sleep.<br>I am a thousand winds that blow.  
>I am the diamond glints on snow.<br>I am the sunlight on ripened grain.  
>I am the gentle autumn rain.<br>When you awaken in the morning's hush  
>I am the swift uplifting rush<br>Of quiet birds in circled flight.  
>I am the soft stars that shine at night.<br>Do not stand at my grave and cry;  
>I am not there. I did not die'<p>

She read the words out loud, and felt some comfort from them as she glanced for the first time at the casket beside her. She froze on the spot as she imagined Jenny's body lying inside. Until that moment she had managed to keep her composure, managed to prevent her emotions spilling out; but as she looked at the casket she felt the stopper blowing off like a champagne cork. She let out a couple of violent sobs and the tears began to flow. Gibbs had been prepared for this moment in a way and immediately went to her. He wrapped his arms round her shoulders and pulled her back towards the bench where he'd previously been sat.

She sat and sobbed for the rest of the service until it was time for the casket to be carried out, which was something Penny had asked Gibbs to be a part of. They carried it to the hearse which was waiting to take Jenny to her final resting place. Those wishing to join the friends and family at the graveside followed the car round to the graveyard.

Once the final part of the service concluded, Penny stood by the grave side, a lot calmer than before, but was still unable to take her eyes from the casket before her. As the other mourners dispersed one by one she was left alone with her mom. It irritated her slightly that there were news reporters standing close by, taking photographs and filming. She understood that it was a big deal that an agency director had died, not to mention the fact that she was the first female director, but she couldn't help resent them for intruding on her privacy, and for making her grieving so public. She glanced over to Gibbs and the others who had stepped aside to allow her to say a personal goodbye, and she saw that one of the reporters was speaking to Gibbs.

'It's a fine mess you've left me in Mom; don't know how I'm going to get through any of this. Heather's taken Mom back to their hotel, I think she's really struggling with all of this, and she refused to stay at the house without you. Was something I very nearly did myself if I'm honest.' She said as she spoke softly to the casket as her eyes began to well up once more.

At that moment Gibbs joined her side once again and hugged her affectionately as the others disappeared out of the cemetery.

'We're all going to head back.' He whispered to her without breaking his hold around her. 'We've decided not to go to her wake, but we may go out for drinks later in her honour.' He added.

She looked at him with understanding as they both began to walk towards the gates. As he led her away she briefly turned back towards the casket, and in the distance caught a glimpse of a red-headed figure. Penny stopped suddenly but could no longer see the person she had seen.

'Is everything OK Penny?' Gibbs asked her, his facial expression contorted with concern.

'Um...yeah, yeah I'm fine Gibbs sorry, it's just that...never mind.' She stammered as she shook her head and put the image down to her mind playing tricks on her.

Gibbs drove her back to NCIS as she didn't want to go Jenny's wake, a decision he respected. They re-joined the team in the parking garage, and entered the bullpen to find a news report on the TV detailing her funeral, making them all feel uncomfortable. Penny retreated back to the elevator and rode it up to the top floor where she made her way to her mom's office.

She was surprised to find that the door was unlocked, and for a split second she expected to see Jenny behind her desk as usual before she remembered that she would never be sat there again. In the three short years Jenny had been director, Penny had gained a lot of happy memories. She thought about the times when Jenny would often work late into the night, and she would often end up falling asleep on the sofa whilst she waited for her mom to finish. Each time she would wake up to find her mom had placed her coat over her for warmth, and more often than not she would have fallen asleep herself in her chair at her desk.

She made her way over to the desk and sat down in the chair, taking a few deep, calming breaths. She glanced at one of the photographs on the desk, a photograph of their father, and smiled.

'Hope you'll look after her for me.' She said with a sigh as she held it in her hand.

At that moment the door opened again and Gibbs strolled in and looked directly at her. He didn't say anything, as usual, but looked at her in anticipation. In the last couple of weeks that had been their routine. Most of the time she would sit with him in his basement and say nothing, but would take comfort from him being there and from watching him work.

'Did you know that when I was six I was hospitalised with kidney problems? Mom flew home from uni as soon as she heard and you'd have thought I was dying the way she reacted.' She said to him with a smile, resulting in a small smile from him.

'No I didn't know that.' He replied casually.

'I just thought I'd come in and clear away her things, make sure that everything I wanted kept didn't go in the bin.' She explained to his unasked question as she placed the photographs into a large brown envelope, along with Jenny's red reading glasses.

'What are you two doing in here?' Vance said as he entered what was now his office, a thought that made Penny feel sick.

'I was just collecting the rest of my mom's belongings.' Penny explained quietly and held up the envelope in her hand.

'Well do you think you could do it out of my chair?' He said as he placed a fresh toothpick between his teeth.

Penny hated him with every fibre of her being in that moment. He'd been so casual about Jenny's death and towards her that she couldn't stand the idea of him being Jenny's successor. She felt desperate to shout that it was not his chair or his office, but she knew that Jenny would want her to behave with the upmost dignity and respect. She was about to head out when Vance stopped them both, just as the rest of the team joined them.

'Bad few days.' He said as they entered solemnly.

Before they'd even stopped moving Vance began giving his orders to the team.

'Officer David your liaison position with NCIS has been terminated, you're going home.' He said to a stunned looking Ziva as she glanced briefly towards Gibbs. 'McGee, I'm moving you across to the cyber-crimes unit. You'll be working with officer Holdsworth starting tomorrow.' He said as he turned his attentions to McGee, before turning them to Tony. 'DiNozzo, you've been re-assigned, agent afloat USS Ronald Regan; pack your bags, you fly out tomorrow.'

Gibbs couldn't believe what he was hearing, but he had feared that something like this may happen. He listened to what Vance had to say just as he turned his attentions to Penny, and he prayed that he wasn't stupid enough to re-assign her. After everything she'd been through, and everything she was about to go through, he was certain that she wouldn't cope with being re-assigned and removed from the place she loved.

'Special Agent Shepard you will remain in the Major Crimes Response Team, taking over from agent DiNozzo as senior field agent.' Vance said before handing three files to Gibbs. 'Meet your new team.' He added which resulted in a look of disgust and concern on the senior agent's face.

'Whoa, whoa, whoa!' Penny exclaimed and held her hand up. 'Is this because I had a go at Tony and Ziva about Mom? I mean I know things are...strained, but...' She said as she tried to defend those she considered family, before Vance cut her off.

'The decision I have made is none of your concern agent Shepard. These orders are in place with immediate affect; I suggest that you all go home and make any necessary arrangements and packing.' He said before he sent them out.

The team all left the office feeling depressed, disrespected and disheartened. If it wasn't bad enough that they were all feeling guilty for their part in Jenny's death, they were now being made an example of, and their family was being disbanded.

Penny felt sick. The guilt she felt twisted round her stomach like a vine on a tree. She felt as if this was all her fault; if she hadn't been so ready and open to blame Ziva and Tony, then Vance wouldn't have known that there were problems amongst the team, and maybe none of this would be happening. As if their lives couldn't have gotten any worse Vance just had to pull a stunt like this and knock them down again, just as they were beginning to pick themselves up.

She sat at her desk and watched as the other three agents emptied their desks of their personal belongings. Everything was done in silence. Gibbs had disappeared to God only knows where, and Abby still had to be told about the recent development. Penny couldn't even look or speak directly to her friends, her guilt overpowering her. She couldn't take it anymore; she had to go to the one place where she could find solace.

It had been a tough few weeks with her first losing her mom and now losing her friends. She felt as if she was trying to hold water in her hands, but try as she might it kept running through her fingers.

She found herself in Gibbs's basement, his boat in the middle of the room as usual. She ran her hand over the wood, feeling calmed by its coolness beneath her fingertips. The smell of varnish and wood filtered through her nostrils as she made her way to the bottle of bourbon on the side. She grabbed one of the glass jars that Gibbs had lying about, and poured the brown liquid into it. She sat in the dark and thought about everything, pouring more and more bourbon into her glass. She wasn't usually a drinker, only occasionally sharing a glass with her mom, but on this occasion all she wanted to do was drink until she couldn't remember the reason she was drinking.

'That's only going to make things worse.' Gibbs said as he walked down the stairs, his shoes beating off the wood.

'Yeah well I doubt things can get a whole lot worse Gibbs.' She replied, her eyes glazed over slightly, her tongue feeling numb and her words slightly slurred.

Gibbs removed the glass and the bottle from her hands without any resistance. He looked at her in silence as he tried to search for words of comfort that he could offer.

'This is my entire fault Gibbs. I should never have spoken to Tony and Ziva like that in front of Vance. It wasn't their fault mom went off on her own; it wasn't their fault that she chose to get herself shot instead of calling me or you or anyone; why didn't she call me Gibbs? Why didn't she let me help her? She was always keeping me in the dark about stuff, pushing me away when all I wanted was to help her.' She said angrily although her tone didn't convey any trace of anger, she remained calm and in control of her emotions.

'None of this is your fault Penny. Things happen for a reason, reasons that we sometimes can't even begin to comprehend.' He said quietly, but he could see that Penny needed to sober up before his words would really take effect. 'Come on; let's get you upstairs for some coffee.' He said as he pulled her up and towards the stairs.

That evening passed by quietly for them both. Penny had begun to sober up gradually as they sat and talked, and was now laid across Gibbs's chest asleep. Her arms rested across his waist whilst his arm was draped round her shoulders. He bent his head forward and kissed the top of her head. He was glad that she was resting as it was the first time in more than a week that she was asleep, making him too scared to move. He sat there for hours with her sleeping peacefully as he drifted in and out of consciousness himself.

He wasn't sure what their future had in store for them, but he was sure as hell that he was going to get to the bottom of the latest development.


	5. Chapter 5

The next day Gibbs drove them both to NCIS headquarters. He had attempted to persuade her to stay at home and take some leave time, but she had point blank refused. She didn't want to stay at home and be reminded constantly that she was now alone; at least when she was at NCIS she felt comforted by the presence of other people, or at least she did before the team were disbanded.

She entered the bullpen as usual and sat at her desk, where she'd placed her mom's photograph and her signature red reading glasses the previous day. The three new agents were already there sat behind the desks of Tony, Ziva and McGee. She remembered Michelle Lee from her previous position with the MCRT when Gibbs had gone on his "margarita safari", as Jenny had put it, but the other two she had never met before.

'Good morning.' The agent sat behind McGee's desk said cheerily. 'I'm Special Agent Daniel Keating.' He added as he held out his hand to her to introduce himself.

'Penny.' She said as she shook his hand in response and as nicely as she could, although she didn't particularly feel like being nice.

'I'm Brent Langer.' Brent said as he also held out his hand, but he looked leerily at her which made her feel uncomfortable. 'So it's all been happening here the last couple of weeks huh?' He added.

'How do you mean?' She asked him, trying not to show that she was intimidated by him.

Normally men like Langer wouldn't bother her in the slightest, she had a strong disposition and the ability to quickly turn her words into a fiery weapon, but on this occasion she couldn't even bear the thought of trying.

'Well what with Director Shepard getting herself killed, and then your whole team being re-assigned…'

'Special Agent Shepard where is Agent Gibbs?' Leon Vance said as he entered the bullpen, just before Penny could reply, which was probably a good thing since she felt like smacking Langer in the face for his insensitive comments, especially the one about her mom.

She was about to reply to Leon, and explain Gibbs was away getting coffee, when the elevator doors opened and Gibbs strolled out with two cups in his hands.

'Your nine o'clock.' She replied simply, her tone sounding cold.

Leon acknowledged her comment and turned on his heel to greet the other agent.

'Gibbs I want a word when you're ready.' He said, meaning that he wanted a word in private right away.

Gibbs looked at Penny and they passed a look of knowing between them. He handed her the second cup in his hand, and she smiled when she smelt the sweet hot chocolate and peppermint syrup, her favourite. Once he'd handed it to her he left with Leon immediately up towards MTAC, and Penny very quickly left the bullpen to head down to Abby's lab. She didn't even bother saying anything to the other agents, but glared slightly at Langer as she left.

'Shepard?' Langer said quietly to Michelle and Keating as he watched Penny disappear.

'Yeah Shepard, she was Director Shepard's daughter.' Michelle filled in for him, and he groaned in response with his head in hands as he realised that he'd put both his feet in it.

'Hey Abs how you doing?' Penny said as she entered the lab before she was almost knocked over by the flying Goth.

'Oh Penny, are you OK?' She asked as she gripped her friend tightly, resulting in a small smile from Penny.

Abby had been really worried about her after yesterday's events, and had tried all night to get hold of her.

'Yeah I'm OK Abs…well as good as can be expected I guess.' Penny replied as she closed her eyes and hugged Abby tightly, receiving some comfort from her.

'Where were you last night? I've been trying to call you all night and you didn't answer. I've been so worried.' Abby scolded as she gripped Penny, terrified to let her go.

'Sorry Abs I didn't realise.' Penny replied as she stepped back a little out of Abby's bone crushing embrace. 'I was at Gibbs's last night, and…well, let's put it this way, I'm feeling a little bit fragile this morning.' She added with a small smile.

'Oh, I didn't check there…why didn't I check there?' Abby replied sheepishly as she grabbed Penny's hand and dragged her over to the wall by her windows. 'Do you like the pics of everyone? I'm trying to surround myself with our loved ones.'

Penny hadn't noticed before, but Abby had placed several photographs of Ziva, Tony and McGee on every surface beneath her windows. Next to the photographs was a poster she had made with a sad face on it and a post-it note stuck on with the number one written on it.

'Gibbs won't let this number get into double figures, I'm sure of it. I miss them already.' Abby said with a saddened sigh.

Penny smirked slightly as she looked at all the pictures, but she couldn't help feel that one person was missing. As if Abby had read her mind, she grabbed Penny's shoulders and span her slowly round to face the other wall, where she'd placed a framed photograph of Jenny next to a single black rose and a lit candle. Penny felt a pang of disbelief when she saw it, still hoping she'd wake up to find it all was a bad dream, but she was grateful for Abby's memorial to her. She placed her hands over Abby's which, were still resting on her shoulders, when Gibbs came into the lab.

He looked at them both looking at the photograph of Jenny, and then spotted Abby's memorial to her. He could feel their pain from where he was standing, without even having to look into their eyes.

'Penny I've just had a call, we've got a dead marine in the park.' He said quietly, not entirely sure she was up to dealing with a case so soon, but she made no objections.

They left the lab and re-entered the bullpen, both grabbing their gear from their desks. Penny was an experienced hand and was used to grabbing her bag, badge and gun quickly, but as soon as Gibbs had said the words "grab your gear", the three new agents seemed clueless as to what to do or to the urgency that he required from them. Both he and Penny were already standing at the entrance to the bullpen before the three new additions had even stood up from their desks. Gibbs looked annoyed, as did Penny. She hated change, and especially this one.

Once they'd arrived at the crime scene she headed off on her own and began taking photographs. Both Gibbs and Ducky were worried about her, and the ME didn't fail to take the opportunity to voice those concerns.

'How's she baring up Jethro?' He asked in hushed tones, slightly turning his back from where she was standing.

'Not good Duck. She's trying to make out that she's OK, but I know that she's not.' Gibbs replied as he watched her.

'Should she really be here right now?' Ducky said in concerned disbelief that the young woman had even considered coming to work, let alone that Gibbs had allowed her to be there.

'Probably not, but if I'm honest, I'm glad she is; means that we can keep an eye on her.' Gibbs replied honestly.

'Well I think this time you should persuade her to go home. I think it's too soon for all this.' Ducky explained with concern.

Penny glanced at Ducky and Gibbs and knew they were talking about her. She wished that they wouldn't worry about her so much, but was glad that they did as they were now the only family she had left to turn to in DC. She turned her attentions back to the crime scene, and noticed the similarities between the location and the diner where Jenny had died.

It was a rundown shack in the middle of nowhere on the dirt road to Rock Creek Park, and both the victims had been shot multiple times. As she stared at the dead marine, the other was a civilian, her mind began to drift off into images of the diner, and although she hadn't seen Jenny's body, her mind still filled in the blanks for her.

Gibbs noticed Penny standing stationary over the marine's body as she clutched her camera in both of her hands. He could see that she was in a world of her own, and knew that it was too soon for her to be working any crime scene, let alone a shooting. He approached her and slowly removed the camera from her hand without receiving any resistance from her.

'Go home Penny and get some rest; being here isn't going to do you any good. I'll finish up here and then I'll join you at your place as soon as I can OK?' He said to her softly as she continued to stare at the body below her.

He handed her the car keys and was grateful that they'd taken two cars instead of just the one. Penny wanted to object as she took the keys from him, wanted to stay and work and try to forget about everything going on around her, yet she found herself taking the keys from Gibbs without resistance, and even walked to the car without replying; she no longer had the energy to fight it.

She got into the vehicle and took a long, slow breath to help calm her, before she turned on the ignition and began driving the twenty seven miles home. She found that being alone in the car with just the radio on was relaxing, and that she actually felt at peace as she drove.

She parked the car outside her Georgetown home and looked at the empty building despondently. She slowly walked up to the front door and placed her key in the lock. She found even doing these short, simple tasks difficult to carry out and she couldn't understand why exactly. Her home had always given her a great source of comfort, but now all she felt was dread. As she entered her home though she glanced into the open study and remembered how she had felt after her father had died.

She remembered feeling lost, alone and completely devastated by his death, exactly the same as she felt now. Looking back she realised that she didn't feel the same pain that had been caused initially by his death, and that before Jenny had died she'd enjoyed being in the house even if she had feared the study greatly. At least that was something good about the situation she now faced, she was no longer afraid of the study.

She placed her rucksack on the floor at the foot of the stairs and walked through into the study. She lit the fire in the fireplace before pulling out a photograph album from one of the many drawers in one of the cabinets. She sat in the armchair closest to the fire place with the album resting on her knee, and found herself smiling as she looked over the photographs displayed in front of her. She thought that reminiscing over the photographs would have made her feel worse about her situation, but she found that it made her feel the complete opposite. For the first time in days she actually felt happy and contented as she remembered the happier times with her family.

She was so distracted by her happy memories that she hadn't realised that she'd been sat in the same spot for hours, or that the day had turned into night, or the fact that Gibbs had entered her home and was now standing in the doorway of the study.

He watched her as he leant against the door frame, and was relieved to see that she was smiling and didn't look like she had cried recently.

'Penny?' He said softly, hoping not to scare her or make her jump.

She looked up at him with a warm smile and he saw the old Penny return for a few moments.

'Hey Gibbs.' She said happily.

'You OK?' He asked her, a little concerned by her sudden change in mood, but then again he realised that there was no sense to grief; one minute you could be up and the next you could be down.

'Yeah, I can honestly say that at the moment I am.' She replied as Gibbs joined her in the seat opposite her beside the fire. 'I was worried that I was going to forget things about her, you know, stupid things like the way she used to smile, her laugh, the sound of her voice or even just what she looked like. But then I remembered that my dad passed away almost thirteen years ago, but I can still remember all the silly little things about him that most people wouldn't have even thought about.'

Gibbs sat and listened to Penny for the whole night, and enjoyed seeing her happy as she recounted her tales of her mom from when she was a child and showed him the photographs from her many albums. Penny was enjoying being able to talk about Jenny without feeling the constraints of her grief, and she found herself laughing, something she thought she'd never do again.

She knew that she was going to have her good days and her bad days, but today felt as if it was a step in the right direction.


	6. Chapter 6

Four months later and things at NCIS, and in Penny's life, had returned to normal, well sort of. McGee, Ziva and Tony were still missing from the team and they were still left with "the B team" as Ducky had put it earlier that day. Penny would often have lunch with McGee and Abby, but it just wasn't the same. Things with the new team were strained at best and they still had no real answers as to Vance's motives. If she was honest she couldn't stand the new agents as they weren't her family. None of them gelled like their predecessors had done and she and Gibbs were still being kept in the dark about a lot of things. But that was why Gibbs now had her sat in the director's office trying to find out the truth behind the team's break-up.

It had been the first time since Jenny's funeral that she had entered the office, and she could see that all of Jenny's black and white photographs had been removed and replaced by Vance's boxing ones. She found that the office was no longer warm and inviting as it had been previously and no longer held any source of comfort.

She struggled to stay focused on what it was that Vance was saying in the beginning, seeing as he was prattling on about boxing, but then Gibbs mentioned the one thing that brought her back to reality.

'You didn't break-up my team because of Jenny's death.' Gibbs said bluntly, and he noticed that Penny winced at his words.

Although she was coping and moving on, she still hated people pointing out that Jenny was dead and wouldn't becoming home, especially when they said it so bluntly.

'No, five months ago I got a series of anonymous calls from a navy petty officer. Eventually he identified himself as Steve Vargo. He said that he had gambling debts and that he was being blackmailed into supplying highly classified data to someone.' Vance explained calmly.

'What sort of data?' Gibbs asked, also calmly but Penny could hear the irritation in his voice and in his stance.

'He wouldn't tell me. But Vargo was a specialist in the middle-east. He said that he downloaded a critical file, but he hadn't passed it on.' Vance continued to explain, a slight glint to his eye.

'Change of heart.' Gibb added simply before Vance continued again.

'I believed him. On the Director's orders I flew to DC. I was supposed to meet him, he was going to give me the name of that contact, but he didn't turn up. Next day he didn't report for duty, now I know why.' He explained finally.

'You didn't answer the question Leon.' Gibbs added with a very small smile playing on his lips.

'The reason I broke up your team Gibbs was because whoever was blackmailing Vargo was an NCIS agent.'

'Not one of mine.' Gibbs replied quickly and in disbelief that any of his were suspects.

'No. From what Vargo told me I narrowed it down to three agents.' Vance explained before he turned round and walked over to the screen in the middle of the office. 'The only reason I broke up your team was so that I could form a new one. So that you can help me figure out which one of these three is betraying their country.'

Gibbs looked at Leon with confusion, irritation and annoyance. He was angry that he'd been left in the dark for so long. Penny was also angry that they'd been kept in the dark and that she'd been made to feel so guilty and responsible for the team's disbandment, when in fact it had nothing to do with her or her actions.

She listened as Vance explained in great detail about how he came to make his decision as to where to send McGee and Ziva, but she was still curious as to why Tony was made agent afloat. The fact that Ziva was sent back to Mossad and McGee was sent to cyber-crimes made sense, but there was still no reason, in her mind, as to why Tony was sent away. However, before she could ponder more on the subject Vance said something else that caught her attention.

'Our contact is currently in Moscow. They've kept their ear to the ground with this and managed to pick up a couple of pieces of information, but nothing substantial as of yet.' He explained to Gibbs cryptically, but Gibbs clearly knew who and what he was meaning.

On hearing the latest piece of information, Gibbs sent Penny out of the room. She could tell that he was angry about the whole situation, but for some reason this piece of news seemed to tip his anger over the edge.

'Penny I need to speak with Director Vance alone.' He said calmly without taking his eyes from Vance who was now sitting behind his desk.

Penny silently moved from her position in the centre of the room towards the door. She knew better than to argue with Gibbs and didn't want to get in the middle of their pissing match. However, just as she closed the door behind her she heard a small snippet of their argument.

'So you're telling me Leon, that even after four months into this investigation that you and our contact have nothing?' She heard Gibbs say angrily.

'It's not her primary assignment Gibbs. I only keep her up to date with information on a situation that she already knows about; but she needs to concentrate on the bigger mission at hand.' Leon spat back calmly.

Penny was curious to know who their contact was. In the last four months she had heard quite a few conversations like this one, or Gibbs would suddenly be called to MTAC which would then go into lock down. Occasionally he would even go running to Vance at his request, something he never usually did. Whatever it was though, she hated being kept in the dark and was determined to find out more.

She returned to the bullpen just as Gibbs and Vance were disappearing into MTAC. She stood in the centre of the bullpen and stared after them for a few moments, feeling frustrated by their constant secrecy.

'Right what've you got?' She asked as she turned her attentions to "the B team".

'Vargo's computers have been seized.' Langer said with his face contorted in confusion.

'Standard operating procedure.' Keating replied as he continued to stare at his own computer. 'It's in the agent's manual.'

'Section thirty-five subsection two clause E, seizure of evidence.' Penny added as she remembered all her mom's teachings.

Jenny had always ensured that Penny knew all of the regulations and laws for NCIS, even long before she had become an NCIS agent. She'd always wanted Penny to exceed in her endeavours as an agent and couldn't have been prouder when Penny had passed all of her exams with full merits. Penny had always been proud to call herself a little bit of a geek when it came to procedure.

'And this matters why?' Michelle asked.

'It was seized four months ago.' Langer explained, his brow still slightly furrowed.

'After he failed to report for duty, makes perfect sense.' Penny replied with a slightly annoyed tone to her voice.

'Who seized them?' Michelle said as she drew her attention to the agents in front of her.

'Us, this agency, NCIS.' Langer replied.

'Well then it will have been logged.' Keating said as he began tapping away on the keys of his computer. As he stared at his screen it was now his turn to look confused. 'It wasn't logged.'

'Well legally that could cause a chain of evidence problem.' Michelle explained, using her knowledge as a lawyer.

'It's got to be in the building somewhere.' Langer added as he picked up his phone.

'Evidence locker maybe?' Michelle suggested, but the suggestion made Penny realise where it probably was.

'Guys don't worry about the computer just now; you just concentrate on the current investigation.' She said as she returned to her own computer and began typing an email to McGee, just as Gibbs appeared in the bullpen.

'Talk to me.' He said as he entered.

He was used to saying short phrases and being bombarded by responses, ideas and solutions from his team, yet these three agents couldn't even master that simple task.

'Anyone?' He said loudly which resulted in a frenzy of babbling replies as the agents tried to talk over each other.

Penny heard the other three agents explain to Gibbs what they'd found as she carefully placed her telephone receiver to her ear. She could tell that Gibbs was irritable and annoyed, which he seemed to be a lot more of in recent weeks. Just as Gibbs sat behind his desk Penny finished speaking to McGee and replaced the receiver on the phone turret. She approached Gibbs desk with a note that she had written, but she noticed that he was looking at the team of agents from over his computer. Neither of them were used to it being so quiet.

Penny had to admit, in all fairness to the new team, they did concentrate on their work and any orders they were given, but she hated the silence. She was so used to hearing DiNozzo making some random quip about their case or referring to a movie. She missed his sexually agitated conversations with Ziva and her tendency for mispronouncing words or sayings. Most of all she missed McGee. She hated not working with him and she missed Tony picking on him, like a big brother would, and his little confused look he'd sometimes get. Deep down she knew Gibbs felt the same, even if he'd never admit it.

'What you got Penny?' Gibbs asked her quietly as she handed him her note.

He took the paper from her and read her neat handwriting, noting how similar it was to Jenny's. He subtly nodded his head at her before standing from behind his desk. He gently tugged on Penny's sleeve to indicate that he wanted her to follow him, which she did without saying a word. Neither said anything to the other team members.

Gibbs led her to the "basement" where McGee now worked with the cyber-crimes unit. Once there they waited, somewhat impatiently on Gibbs's part, for Vance to join them.

'Did you call him?' Gibbs asked McGee.

McGee looked uncomfortably at Gibbs, knowing how pissed about the situation he was, and tried to offer him some form of explanation; at least he owed him that.

'Director's on his way down.' He said, noting how Penny winced when he referred to Vance as "Director", something she did often when she heard it.

'You like working down here McGee?' Gibbs asked, feeling hurt by his agent's betrayal but determined not to show it.

'Boss I'm sorry, he made it very clear to me that I couldn't talk to anyone except for him.' McGee tried to offer as an explanation.

'Wouldn't have stopped you in the past.' He replied.

'It isn't like the past anymore Gibbs.' Penny replied quietly, just as the elevator doors pinged open.

'You can tell him.' Vance said as he walked out, causing an instant response from McGee.

'We've cracked the eighth code of encryption. Which is not actually accurate because they're not really levels of encryptions; some are just packets of information all encrypted with a new level of protection that…that you don't really need to know about.' He explained proudly before remembering how Gibbs favoured immediate answers. 'The day before he disappeared Vargo connected a thumb drive, about this size, to a classified computer and downloaded a two point seven five gigabyte file.' He explained quickly as he showed Vance and Gibbs his thumb drive.

'What sort of data?' Gibbs asked.

'Don't know yet; haven't been able to crack that level of encryption.' McGee replied.

'Something he could easily hide. Probably took it with him.' Vance explained as he listened to the young agent's findings.

'And put it somewhere safe.' Gibbs added.

'Maybe.' Vance replied as he stared directly at Gibbs. 'Thank you agent McGee. Keep Gibbs in the loop.' He added to McGee, making it clear to him that there was something that they both knew that he didn't.

'Will do.' He replied as he and Penny quickly exited the basement, leaving Gibbs and Vance to it.

Once they were inside the elevator and the doors were closed, Penny whacked McGee on the back of his head.

'Ow what was that for?' He asked as he gingerly touched the area.

'For insisting on calling Vance director.' She replied with a small smile.

She wasn't really mad at him, as in reality she knew that since Vance was the director everyone would be referring to him as such, but it pained her to hear her friends say it, and she'd already vowed that she never would.

McGee looked at her with a small frown until he saw her small smile, to which he then reciprocated. Although he and Penny had always been very close, in the last four months they'd become even closer and there was definitely something else on the cards that they were completely oblivious to.

'Gibbs is trying to get the team back together.' She said simply.

'I hope he can. I've really missed being a field agent and you guys.' He said.

'Yeah I've missed you all too. Including Tony.' She added. 'Do you think he's forgiven me for the way I treated him?'

'You don't have anything to feel guilty about you know. I'd have reacted the same if I'd been in your position, and I think he understands that.' He replied and placed his arm around her to give her a small hug.

'Do you fancy grabbing a quick drink before you go home?' She asked as the doors opened into the bullpen.

'Sure, why not?' He replied as they left the building together and headed to a bar nearby.

They were pleased to see it was reasonably quiet apart from a couple of regulars. McGee went to the bar to order their drinks whilst Penny went over to the pool table. She'd always loved playing pool and wasn't bad at it either. Her father used to have one in one of the spare rooms in the house. She remembered that he used to smoke a cigar whilst potting a few balls and drinking scotch. He used to teach her all about playing and she really enjoyed learning. What she couldn't remember was when it had disappeared. She knew it had been at some point after his death, but she couldn't pin point the exact time. Now it held all of her mom's gym equipment, which even she enjoyed using from time to time, although she hadn't done recently. At that point, just as McGee was walking over, she made the conscious decision to start using the gym equipment again.

'Are we all set?' He asked as he handed her a drink and grabbed a pool cue.

Being a gentleman he let her break first, sending the red and yellow balls scattering over the green cloth. After taking his shot McGee stepped back to allow Penny to take hers. He watched her as she looked at the balls intently; she pulled the cue back slightly and was just about to take her shot when McGee deliberately hit the end of the cue with his hand. She stayed in position and slowly turned her head to glare at him, a slight smile playing on her lips.

'Just goes to show that you shouldn't rush a shot.' McGee said playfully.

They began to laugh until they were joined by a bubbly Abby.

'What's so funny?' She asked.

'Just Timmy being a McCheater.' Penny replied, noticing how McGee winced slightly at her comment.

'Please don't you start with the Mc-nicknames.' He said, much to Penny's amusement.

'Aw come on McGee, admit it, you've missed Tony and his Mc-nicknames for you.' She replied.

'I miss Tony.' Abby said with a melancholy tone. 'I'm so glad we're getting him and Ziva back.'

'Has Vance definitely confirmed that yet?' Penny asked.

'Well, no…not yet anyway. But with Gibbs on his case it's inevitable. Right?' Abby replied, her previous confidence a little deflated.

'Well sadly Abs nothing is inevitable, especially not as far as Vance is concerned.' Penny replied, just as she lined up her cue once more and angrily potted her next ball.

Abby and McGee gave each other a knowing look, and wished there was something they could say or do to help their friend get over her clear dislike of their new boss. However, before they could contemplate this further, Ducky and Jimmy arrived. It was just like old times apart from the team members they were missing.

The next day Gibbs was up early to continue the investigation. There was something greatly troubling his gut about this case, but he couldn't figure out what it was. It was whilst he was in autopsy and speaking to Ducky that he finally got his epiphany. Now he found himself in Abby's lab looking at the pillow the shooter shot through. Abby confirmed his suspicions that the pillow wasn't used to silence the gun shot, but was placed over the face of the victim to shield their identity as he was shot. As Abby put it, they had a squeamish shooter.

Shortly after this discovery, McGee called him with some information. He'd found a calling list from a pay phone at the trailer park where Vargo stayed, and there were three calls listed to NCIS's legal team. The link to the legal team and the fact that their shooter was squeamish certainly made Gibbs believe that Michelle Lee could have been responsible. The only thing troubling his gut now was the fact that her explanation was plausible.

'Sounds credible.' Vance said, referring to Lee's explanation.

'Maybe.' Gibbs replied doubtfully.

At that point McGee joined them in the office along with Penny.

'McGee, check Lee's files on the days Vargo called and see if she logged any report.' Vance instructed the younger agent.

'Penny I want you to pull full background checks on all of them, Lee, Keating, Langer; phone records, bank cards, credit cards.' Gibbs said to Penny and she nodded in reply.

'Any update on the hard drive?' Vance asked.

'Well we're still trying to crack the encryption, but there may be another way.' McGee replied, giving Vance a slight nod and a look that told him that he wasn't offering to go through official channels. 'The only information we have is the file's hash number.'

'Every file has one.' Penny said with a small smile, realising where McGee was going with his train of thought.

'No two are the same.' He added, a small smile also forming on his lips. 'So if we can access the Pentagon's system we can scan for that hash number and it should lead us to that file Vargo downloaded. Of course we would have to go through some channels…' He explained.

'Is that the fastest way?' Gibbs asked.

'I was afraid you were going to ask me that.' McGee replied, again a small smile forming on his lip and Penny had to work hard to supress the one from her's.

'We didn't have this conversation.' Vance said coyly as he looked at the three agents before him.

'What conversation would that be?' Penny replied to Vance with an innocent look, giving a small wink to Gibbs who smiled at her response.

Penny and McGee left the office immediately and walked into MTAC. The only way they could access the information they required would be through a secure naval network, which meant only one thing…Tony. She felt a little excited about seeing him again, even if it was only on a screen, but she was apprehensive as well. She wasn't sure of the best way to deal with the situation, so she decided to stay out of sight in one of the chairs.

Gibbs also entered MTAC and he immediately noticed where Penny was sat. He'd been made aware that since Jenny's death Penny favoured the seat in MTAC that was next to what had been Jenny's favourite seat; the row on the right hand side of the room, bottom left. He then remembered an incident with her when she had sat in another seat within MTAC. It had been the seat on the bottom right on the row on the left hand side of the room; he had been sat at the very top talking to Tom Morrow when the red head in front had stood up to face him. His voice had stuck in his throat for a few seconds as his happy memories of them together had flashed before him. As he brought his mind back to the present day and to the task at hand, he felt a small pang of pain as he realised that he missed her.

'McGoo, it's true, TV really does add ten pounds; you been hitting those jelly donuts again?' Gibbs heard Tony say and a smile creased his face. He had to admit he did miss the younger agent. 'How do I look?' Tony added, ensuring he was presentable.

'Well Tony I never thought I'd say it and actually mean it, but it's good to see you.' McGee replied.

Tony leaned forward slightly and whispered into the camera.

'I miss you too Probie.' He said.

'First the USS Ronald Reagan and now the Sea Hawk, how's life afloat?' McGee replied.

'Ah life in the ocean blue me hearties, if the scurvy don't get you the pox will. And tell me this, my little McShipmate, how's that scurrilous, black hearted, pirate King of ours, Captain "One Shot" Gibbs?' Tony said, putting on his best "at sea" accent.

'I'm just fine DiNozzo.' Gibbs said, just before McGee could reply, causing a slightly fearful look in Tony's eyes.

Tony wondered what to say or do next so he glanced slightly behind him before Gibbs slapping himself.

'There you go Boss. Welcome aboard.' Tony replied sheepishly.

'Got work to do.' Gibbs said as he tried to prevent the smile threatening to crease his face. Penny was also fighting hard not to laugh.

'I'm on it Boss; what am I on McGee?' Tony replied immediately.

'Are you alone Tony?' McGee said as he began typing a few things into his computer.

'Oh yeah; just me and five thousand of my closest friends, I AM NEVER ALONE!' He replied as he raised his voice before lowering it again and leaned toward the camera. 'I really need to come home Boss.' He added.

'Working on it.' Gibbs replied simply.

Tony's statement made Penny feel guilty. She still could get passed the fact that it was Vance's doing that Tony was away and not her's.

'The only way we are going to access this information is through a secure naval communications room. So you are it Tony.' McGee explained as if nothing had happened, after all, he was used to Tony's melodramatics. 'Here it is. I'm going to give you a code, I want you to enter it into the keyboard and when you do it's going to ask you for an access code and an authorisation key.'

Tony leaned back in his chair, just as somebody passed behind him, as he loudly replied to Gibbs and McGee.

'Dad, see this is the reason I don't want Tim driving my car. You know I told Tim that it is my car, it's not a family car, it's my car.' He said with a laugh as he glanced behind him, before lowering his voice once more. 'This sounds suspiciously like illegal activity McGee, and, well, a man of my delicate disposition is not suited to that kind of thing.' He added quietly.

'Don't be such a girl Tony.' McGee replied with a roll of his eyes, and Penny had to stifle her laugh. 'Ready? Seven, delta, x-ray, four, nine, eight, three, three, zero, six, Zulu; the password is blue moon, one word. Authorisation key is foxtrot, Oscar, Charlie, bravo.' He explained quickly.

'Alright it's opened a search page.' Tony said before he glanced behind him once again. 'Is this hacking McGee, are we hacking?' He whispered.

'We are not hacking.' McGee replied in a tone that made Penny smile.

'But it is illegal right? Don't answer that, I know it's illegal. It's kinda fun.' Tony added causing Gibbs to smile this time. Tony clearly wasn't made to be agent afloat; he liked being a field agent too much.

'Search parameters, the hash symbol, then two, seven, five, three, one, nine, forward slash, delta, x-ray.' McGee said without replying to Tony's previous statement.

Penny had missed the comedic banter between the two friends. It made her realise that she missed being part of Team Gibbs, the original Team Gibbs, as the other three agents currently sat in her friends' seats were definitely not Team Gibbs material. She'd missed the next bit of the conversation but was brought back when she heard their conversation wrapping up.

'Well it's been great talking with you Pa. Thanks Tim. You know I love you guys it's just Tim always messes my stuff up; he doesn't know how to shift gears, he never changes the oil. Make sure you feed the chickens. Say hi to Penny from me and make sure you look after my little sister…' Tony said resulting in a small laugh from Gibbs, a worried look from McGee and a cold shiver up Penny's spine.

She felt responsible for him being in this predicament and wanted nothing more than to be the one to tell him she wanted him home. She realised that the only way he was going to come home though was if she spoke to Vance about the situation, and she hoped she could make him see sense. But that was going to have to wait as they had an investigation to conclude.

The next few hours were eventful for Penny, McGee and Gibbs. McGee and Penny worked together on the background checks of Langer, Keating and Lee, whilst Gibbs and Vance interrogated them. It was during the interrogations that Lee phoned Gibbs and they discovered that it was Langer who was the mole and that he was trying to kill her. Vance, Gibbs and Penny had gone immediately to her aid and discovered she'd already taken care of him.

She was visibly shaken and distressed, but Langer was dead on arrival and no longer posed a danger. His death marked the end of a long case, and meant that Team Gibbs could be reunited. Now they were just waiting for Ziva to arrive home from Israel.

Penny, McGee, Gibbs and Abby were all standing in the bullpen chatting when the elevator doors pinged open and Ziva quickly exited. After she exchanged a few words with Michelle she joined her NCIS family.

'There she is, ZIVA!' Abby shouted excitedly as she jumped up and down on the spot.

After a few moments Ziva joined her friends and received a hug from each. It was a very tender moment that was tinged with the sadness that they all weren't there. It was at that moment that Penny broke away from the team and began walking towards the stairs.

'Penny where are you going?' Ziva asked.

'To do something I should have done a long time ago.' She replied slightly cryptically, before returning to her rout upstairs.

'She isn't going to resign is she?' Ziva asked as she looked at the rest of the team.

'I hope not.' Gibbs replied as he passed everyone and ran after the youngest agent.

He caught up with her fairly quickly, just before she was able to enter the office. He gently grabbed her arm and pulled her back, holding her in place as he spoke to her.

'What are you doing Penny?' He asked her softly.

'I'm going to speak to Vance Gibbs. I want DiNozzo back and I don't think he's going to listen to you until I can prove that I can work with him again.' She explained, a little confused by his sudden look of unnecessary concern.

Gibbs visibly breathed a sigh of relief, and the realisation of his thoughts dawned on Penny.

'Ah you thought I was about to quit.' She said to him and he finally let go of her arm.

'Come on let's do it together.' He replied as he ushered her towards the door.


	7. Chapter 7

Summer now seemed a distant memory as the much colder winds of winter set in; November was almost coming to a close, but not before Thanksgiving was celebrated, which was fast approaching. Penny didn't feel that she had a lot to be thankful for at the moment after the year she'd had. She was grateful that Team Gibbs was now back together, and had been for a couple of months, but she still yearned for the one thing she knew she'd never have. Her mom.

Gibbs could see that Penny still wasn't coping well with Jenny's death, just that she had become better at hiding it. Despite how well she'd managed to convince the others that she was coping, he could see that the open wound was still fresh, and was still just as sore as before. Once again she had stopped talking about it and still winced whenever someone else mentioned it. Ducky had also noticed this.

It was for this reason that Gibbs now found himself in Ducky's company in autopsy. Although there was a cadaver placed on one of the autopsy tables and a case to be investigated, they were both more preoccupied with their concerns for the youngest agent; it was just a case of who was going to mention it first.

'What've you got Duck?' Gibbs asked, as usual, as he entered autopsy.

'Nothing unexpected Jethro. Death was as I suspected: suffocation by electrocution; there are no other marks on the body, to suggest he was beaten in any way, other than the marks around his wrists and ankles from where he was strung up.' Ducky explained to his old friend.

Gibbs could tell that he had heard about the latest development on the case, the fact that McGee had just found a link to the NCIS team in LA. He could also tell that he was dying to confront him about it. Ducky had known Gibbs long enough to know how his mind worked, but he also knew that this might be the best thing for Penny, but only if it was done right.

'Be careful with her Jethro. She might come across as tough and as having dealt with her mother's death, but inside that pain is as raw as the day it happened.' He said after a few moments of silence.

Gibbs knew that Ducky was right, he had to handle this correctly and not in his usual gung-ho fashion; he wanted to do right by Penny.

'I know Duck, I know.' Was all he said in reply before he swept out of autopsy and headed to Abby's lab.

Penny was already in the there with her friend chatting when Gibbs appeared. Abby had just put her phone down when she looked at him with a slightly confused expression.

'Well that was weird.' She said.

'What was Abs?' He replied.

'Special projects in Los Angeles just emailed me confirming their interest in our x-man.' She explained as she brought up the relevant information on her screen.

'PFC Chandler.' Gibbs said under his breath slightly as he recognised the officer in front of him on the screen.

'That's him.' Abby replied simply.

'Special Agent Macy.'

'That's her.' She added in response to Gibbs's reply. 'She wants me to copy her on all my findings.' She explained.

'If you find out anything Abs you contact me first and then you can send it on to her.' He said with a small smile.

'Are you going somewhere?' Abby asked with distain, she hated it when the team went away anywhere.

'Yeah, that's what I came to tell you. Los Angeles.' He said calmly, noting the look of apprehension on both Abby and Penny's faces. 'I'm taking McGee…and Penny.' He added as he placed a kiss on Abby's forehead.

Although she looked shocked Penny didn't argue with his request, which surprised Gibbs greatly. He'd expected her to at least attempt to get out of it somehow. Instead it was Abby who commented on the trip, offering words of warning.

'Gibbs, be careful; it's just, the last time you guys went to LA, one of you didn't come home.' She said with a look of sadness and concern.

Penny stood in between them both as they looked at each other, before Gibbs quickly glanced at her. She had hung her head subtly towards the ground and allowed her long red hair to fall slightly around her face, almost shielding her from view. Gibbs wasn't too sure what to say to her, but before he could say anything she'd already said her goodbyes to Abby and was walking out of the Lab. She chose to take the stairs back up to the squad room, leaving Abby and Gibbs staring after her.

She knew that there was no point in arguing with Gibbs; once his mind was mind up, his mind was made up. She was annoyed that he was making her do this though, knowing she was still reeling from Jenny's death, especially since Thanks Giving and Christmas were fast approaching. Then again, she knew that this was exactly the reason he was doing it.

On his return to the bullpen Gibbs sent Penny and McGee home to pack a few items and to prepare for their flight out later in the afternoon. McGee was worried about having to make small talk with Gibbs, not knowing what to talk about. Penny, on the other hand, was trying to figure out the best way to deal with situation.

Once at home Penny felt worse than she had done whilst at NCIS. Everything was reminding her of her mom and her death. Without even thinking she walked straight up stairs to, what was, Jenny's bedroom. She opened the door to find everything as it had been the morning Jenny had left on that fateful day. The room held some comfort for her, making her feel that her mom was never too far away, but this meant that she could never bring herself to pack everything away.

Jenny had left before Penny that day, so the last memory Penny had of them together in the house was of her mom preparing her case for her trip before Tony and Ziva arrived.

'I'll be coming back on the red eye flight in a couple of days. I stocked up the fridge so you don't need to worry about food, Tony and Ziva are coming with me as my protection detail but I've informed Stan that you're here, so if you have any problems just let him know.' She'd said as she worried about her daughter.

Despite the fact that Penny was in her twenties her mom had always worried about her; no matter where she went, or for how long, Jen would always ensure her daughter was safe and happy first. It was one of the things that Penny missed most in the six months since her mother's death.

She sat down on the ornate four-poster bed and looked around. A pair of Jenny's favourite high heeled shoes was still placed on the floor at the foot of the bed. Her nightdress was folded and placed neatly onto one of the pillows. She then glanced from the nightdress to three photographs on the nightstand.

Jenny had always kept photographs of Penny on her nightstand, even when she went away on a trip she ensured she brought one with her. Penny also kept a photograph of Jenny with her, in her purse, at her desk and beside her bed.

It wasn't too long before Gibbs was banging on her front door to pick her up to go to the airport, and needless to say she wasn't ready. In her hurry she bunged a few items into an overnight bag before running out of the house.

The trip to LA was very quiet and Penny couldn't help but feel sorry for poor McGee. Gibbs was never one to make small talk, but Penny would normally have sat and chatted away to him. On this occasion, though, she didn't feel up to talking to anyone.

The last time she'd made this trip she'd just been given the news that her mom was dead; she'd flown out to meet Gibbs to find out what had happened. She remembered how he had received a phone call whilst he was in the bullpen. Neither McGee nor Penny had known who it was from, but with hindsight she assumed it was either Ziva or Tony calling with the bad news. Shortly after getting the call he disappeared, not telling anyone where he was going or why. She couldn't stop herself from imagining how he must have felt when he received that call; how hard it must have been for him to make that journey on his own.

She knew that Ziva and Tony had phoned him after finally agreeing that Jenny was in some kind of trouble. As soon as he'd heard the news he'd flown out to them where they traced Jenny to the diner. Unfortunately the three of them arrived too late and they'd found Jenny's bloody and lifeless body. Gibbs had checked for a pulse, but the look he gave the other two agents conveyed the loss. After that the series of events had panned out quickly. Gibbs first phoned SecNav, instructed the two agents not to touch anything, and once that was done he made the journey into town where he then phoned Ducky. That was the phone call Penny was never going to forget, remembering how Ducky's shoulders had slumped at the news, how his face was contorted into pain when he turned to face her, McGee and Abby, and finally that moment when those six words fell from his lips.

Time really did stop for her that day, the day her life changed forever, and now she couldn't believe Gibbs was taking her back to the place where it happened, to relive those moments.

Gibbs felt concerned for Penny. He watched her for the whole of the journey and noticed how she hadn't said anything since he'd picked her up. He could understand why she felt apprehensive about going to LA again; after all, her last visit held some very unpleasant memories for them both, something he felt slightly guilty and responsible for.

As their plane touched the tarmac of the runway to the airport, Gibbs' attentions turned back to the case at hand. They immediately rented a car to get them to the NCIS office in LA. Penny had never been before, but she remembered that Jenny had often visited; she was glad that Gibbs knew where he was going, because, although she had the map, she really had no idea where to go.

The LA office was tucked away down a narrow alleyway. To those who didn't know, the building looked nothing more than a warehouse, but behind the inconspicuous doors the building held some of NCIS's finest agents and technology.

Penny was completely taken aback by the level of technology that the LA team had, as was McGee; Gibbs on the other hand was less impressed. He preferred the simpler approach of good old fashioned detective work, with the very occasional help from technology.

Throughout the investigation Penny stayed at Gibbs's side, which was exactly how he wanted it. She was not in a very good mood, meaning she was grumpy and snapping at anyone who dared to speak to her. She did feel guilty, and Gibbs could see that she wasn't meaning to be foul humoured, but the fact that she felt so uncomfortable meant she had to deal with out the best way she could.

At one point during the investigation all three agents were in the squad room. McGee and Penny were working with Callen and Sam Hanna as they discussed a lead. Gibbs was standing on the walkway above them, watching his agents intently, or at least one in particular.

'She's very like Jenny.' Lara Macey said as she joined him.

'Yeah, yeah she is.' Gibbs replied proudly.

'How's she been coping?'

'As well as can be expected I guess.'

With his last comment to her, Macey walked away from him and towards Penny and the team.

'Penny, I'm Lara Macey , I worked with your mom on a couple of occasions before she became director.' Macey said as she led Penny away from the team by her elbow. 'I met you once actually, not that I expect you to remember, after all you were about twelve at the time.'

'Yes I remember you; you were part of my mom's training group, you worked with her in Spain too.' Penny replied.

'Yeah that's right.' Macey replied before attentions were brought back to the case at hand.

For the rest of the afternoon Penny's mind filled with the memories of when Jenny worked in Spain. Her memories made her realise that although she'd thought she was beginning to get a handle on her feelings, enough to move on, her trip to LA made her feel as if she'd taken ten steps back, making her inwardly curse Gibbs.

For her the rest of the investigation passed in a blur. Gibbs had ordered her to stay behind whilst they went after their suspect, knowing that she was distracted and he didn't want her to be hurt.

She realised that he had kept her busy during the investigation, but not directly involved with the case, making her wonder why he had asked her to join them in LA in the first place; but deep down she already knew the answer.

With the case at an end she was looking forward to being able to go home and see the rest of the team again; but before she could, Gibbs had one last thing he wanted her to do. Without saying a word he ushered her into his car and began driving out of town.

'Where we going?' She asked, but received no reply.

Realising she wasn't going to get an answer any time soon she decided to remain silent and listen to some music. It wasn't until they'd been on the road for nearly an hour that she realised where he was taking her.

Sure enough, about ten minutes later she recognised the silhouette of the dank diner looming over the horizon. It was a sight that she'd preyed she'd never see again.

'Gibbs why are we here?' She asked quietly.

'Because, I think you have unfinished business here, things that you've not dealt with.' He explained as the car came to a stop.

Nervously she followed him out of the car and walked towards the building. She noticed that there was a sign outside stating that it was due to be demolished in a couple of weeks. Gibbs watched her intently as she examined the exterior of the building, he was trying to read her face, her expression, trying to gage what affect this was having.

He'd known for a few weeks that the diner was due to be demolished after an old friend informed him. The relator was unable to sell the property after what had happened six months previously, and since Decker had no family to speak of it couldn't be passed to anyone.

Penny approached the front door and placed her fingers up to the bullet holes, tracing each one with the tip of her index finger. She didn't feel any better about the place than she had the first time she had come, but she wasn't too sure how she felt about it being condemned. Although she didn't want to remember her mom's death, this diner had been the place where she'd died, the place where she'd lived her last moments, and for Penny that was very significant; almost too significant to have wiped away from the landscape.

She pushed the door open slowly as she took a deep breath before entering. She looked around and remembered Vance's words that day, remembering how he'd described what had happened. She glanced down to where Jenny's body had been found and noticed that her blood, although slightly faded, was still clearly visible. She made her way to one of the leather seats next to the window and sat on the back with her feet resting on the seat. She stared at the remnants of her mom's blood and was surprised to find no tears pricking at her eyes; not even when Gibbs joined her.

'I don't think I'll ever truly know what happened here Gibbs, or at least I'll never understand it. I know that she'd want me to move on with my life and be happy, but there are some days when it's just too hard.' She explained quietly, but he didn't reply, which she was fine with. 'I have often though about this place, especially recently. I can't stop imagining what it must have been like for her, if she was scared when she was waiting, if she knew she was going to die or if she genuinely meant it when she said she'd see me soon; do you think she suffered at all?' She added as she looked at him for the first time.

Gibbs wasn't too sure what to say to her, he knew what it was like to ask all these questions and to want to know the answers, but he wasn't sure if he had the answers to give her.

'Jenny was tough, that's what got her to where she was, but you were always the reason she did the things she did, so no I don't think she was scared because she was trying to protect you; she'd have done anything to protect you, but she'd have wanted to come home to you. Trust me when I say that she'd have done everything that she could to get home to you.' He said with a very small smile.

'But do you think she suffered?' She asked.

Gibbs wasn't sure how to answer this, after all, he was sure Jenny had suffered, but not in the way Penny thought.

'I think leaving you behind caused her more pain than anything anyone else could have done to her, but I can guarantee that you were that last thing she thought about when she died.' He said finally.

They both fell silent for a period of time, both taking in the sights before them and both remembering the events of that fateful day. Finally, it was Penny broke the silence.

'Gibbs why did you bring me back here?' She asked quietly.

'I found out that they were raising the place to the ground and though that you deserved closure, something I don't think you got the last time that we were here.'

Penny nodded her head subtly at him, understanding his intentions but not entirely sure if those were accomplished.

Without saying another word to each other they both left the diner and headed back to LA where McGee was waiting for them. The three agents got the next red eye flight home and Penny was glad to see LA fade away into the distance, but she hoped that she could now allow her grief to do the same, so that she could prepare for Christmas and look forward to what the New Year had in store for her.


	8. Chapter 8

'Oh come all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant…' Penny sang to herself as she decorated the tree in her front living room.

It was the twentieth of December and everyone was beginning to get ready for the festivities. Normally she'd have had the house decorated a long time before, but because she was decorating the house on her own it was taking longer than she'd first thought.

Thankfully she had a special guest on her way over to help out, the only other big kid who, like herself, loved Christmas.

As if on cue Abby rang the doorbell the Georgetown house. Penny jumped up and down as she opened the door, genuinely excited to have her friend with her over the holidays.

'Wow Penny this place looks amazing!' Abby exclaimed as she took off her coat, referring to all the decorations Penny had painstakingly displayed.

She'd twined bright red tinsel around the top of the banister of the stairs, and then twined individual silver pieces around each baluster. At the top of the stair case, where it widened at twisted round, there was a small artificial tree that was beautifully lit with white, flickering tree lights, a small angel on top and several, small, bright baubles.

'You wanna help with the tree in the living room?' Penny asked after a few moments.

'I sure do!' Abby replied with great excitement.

The two girls walked in to find a large artificial tree placed prominently beside the fireplace. It was still bare, but standing at seven foot tall it was most impressive. The living room also still looked bare, but they both knew that they'd soon put that right.

'Shall we start on the tree first?' Abby asked with a giddy smile.

'Well Gibbs is on his way over with a step ladder to help put on the lights and the star, but we can start on everything else.' Penny replied with just as much excitement.

Piece by piece they placed the decorations around the living room, putting lights up in the windows, tinsel on the fire place and decorations on the ceiling. Penny had even lit a few candles which were now emanating a warm glow and scene of caramelised apples. Now all that was to be done was the tree.

They didn't have long to wait before Gibbs arrived with his ladder, and he had a small smile on his face when Penny opened the door to him when he saw all of the decorations in place.

'You girls have done a great job.' He said as he took in the wonderful sights and smells.

Ever since their trip to LA Penny had made a vast improvement of how she dealt with Jenny's death. She no longer looked as if she was forcing herself to do the daily tasks and Gibbs could see her old self appearing once again.

'Right, where's this tree then?' He said as he made his way into the living room.

They spent the next hour unravelling the Christmas tree lights before Gibbs began to put them on. The tree was that big that it took approximately four-hundred lights to light it up properly, and it took Gibbs a further hour just to put them on, but when he was finished all three of them agreed that it was worth it, just for the sight before them.

'Wow Gibbs that looks amazing!' Penny said to the agreement of Abby.

'Well all that's left for you to do now is to put on the decorations.' He said to her before he handed her a small wooden box.

'What's this?' She asked with confusion, not recognising it.

'Call it an early present.' He said.

She took the box from him and opened it to find eight hand carved decorations. She took them out one by one and examined them intently. There was a boat, a bat, a dagger, a computer, a film reel, a hat, a small star and finally an Eiffel tower. Penny recognised each one as associated to a team member, but especially noted the Eiffel tower, since Paris had held so many happy memories for Jenny and Gibbs.

'They're beautiful Gibbs, thank you.' She said with astonishment at his work.

She got up and held him tightly and was slightly surprised to find that he reciprocated her hug. Not to be left out, Abby joined them in their embrace and Gibbs found himself hugging both the young women. After a few moments Penny jumped up and began placing each piece onto the tree, taking pride of place towards the top.

Gibbs then watched them as they decorated the rest of the tree and it looked even more amazing than before.

'Hey Penny, has Ducky invited you round for dinner on Christmas day yet?' Abby asked.

'He sure has, he sounded quite excited about it actually.' Penny replied with a smile.

'So are you coming?'

'Absolutely! Couldn't possibly keep me away. From my understanding we're all going.'

'Is that including you too Gibbs?' Abby added with a glance at him as he sat on the sofa, a glass of bourbon in one hand.

'Well if I don't go I will never hear the end of it from you two, so I think I better had.' He replied with a smile as Abby cheered in delight.

For the next few days both Abby and Penny had a full count down to Christmas day, ensuring everyone was ready. They had even been left in charge, by Leon, of the Christmas party, which they had arranged for Christmas Eve.

They went out and bought food and drinks and more party decorations than were imaginable. They'd spent the whole day decorating the squad room and were now back at Penny's getting ready. They'd been out shopping the previous weekend to get their outfits, and both had chosen dresses very fitting of them.

Penny's was a strapless dress, gold in colour but with black netting over the top and a black bow in the centre. It accentuated her hour-glass figure and perfectly matched the gold high heels that she'd borrowed from her mom's wardrobe.

Abby had gone for a knee length, halter neck, black dress with faint silver stars all over it. She had a silver, starred choker to go with it.

'I can't wait for this; it's going to be so much fun!' Penny shouted through to Abby, who was in Penny's en-suit shower.

Penny was already showered and was just styling her long red hair. Like her mom, Penny's hair was ever so slightly curly, although, much to her dismay, it never fell into proper curls, just small kinks; however, that was exactly how she liked it. All she had to do was pin her hair in a couple of places and add some spray and she was done. Just as Abby came out of the shower Penny began doing her make-up.

'I know, I can't wait to see the looks on everyone else's faces. I think it was a great idea to have the party at NCIS, saves everyone having to go home from work if they don't want to and it was a lot cheaper too.' Abby replied with a laugh, making Penny smile too.

'Are you sure you're happy to stay the night here Abs? Only I'd understand if you wanted to spend Christmas morning at your own place.' Penny said as she looked at her friend.

'Penny of course I want to be here. What better way is there to spend Christmas than with family?' Abby replied as she gave Penny a bone crushing hug.

With that neither girl said anything further to each other, but continued to get dressed quickly. Gibbs had agreed to pick them up from the house at eight. He hated going to these things, but both Penny and Abby had begged him to go, and since they'd worked so hard on it, it seemed rude not to go.

At five to eight Gibbs's truck pulled up outside and they both collected the last of their belongings before they headed out, but as soon as Penny opened the front door she could feel that something wasn't as it should be. She glanced down at the welcome mat outside the front door and found a small box wrapped in brown paper. There was a sticker on the front with her name and address on it, but no return address or stamp. She glanced up and looked around but saw no-one other than Gibbs staring back at her, although she could feel someone else watching her.

'Is everything alright Penny?' Gibbs asked as he approached her, a look of concern firmly fixed to his face.

'Yeah, yeah I'm fine thanks Gibbs; just someone left this on my doorstep that's all.' She said as she held the box up. 'Must be another Christmas present; I'll just put it under the tree before we go.'

She ran into the house and placed the box under the tree for the morning before they left for the party. As she got into Gibbs's car she could still feel somebody watching her, but as hard as she tried she couldn't see anyone. She decided to put it all to the back of her mind, realising that she was probably just being paranoid, and went off to join the party.

Both she and Abby were delighted to see most people already there enjoying themselves. The rest of team Gibbs were standing in the bullpen waiting for their arrival and were excited to see their three friends.

'Hey guys we were just talking about you; we were wondering when you were going to arrive.' Tony explained as he passed them all a drink.

'You both did a great job; everyone looks to be enjoying themselves.' McGee added as he looked round at everyone.

'Yeah it's great; just don't let Jimmy drink too much, you know what happened last year…' Abby said as she pulled a face of grimace at the memory.

'…and the year before…'

'…and the year before that one.'

Penny and Ziva said one after the other, which made everyone laugh at the memories, just as Ducky and Jimmy joined them.

The party was a huge success but Penny and Abby had planned a surprise for everyone, and the team were all so busy chatting and laughing that they didn't notice Ducky "duck" out. Everyone suddenly stopped when the lights dimmed and a single light shone onto the catwalk above them. Everyone glanced up to see Ducky dressed as Santa appear from one of the doors.

'Ho Ho Ho!' He shouted with a jolly laugh.

Everyone below him clapped and cheered as he slowly made his way down the stairs with a large sack on his back. He placed it on the ground and began lifting secret Santa gifts, reading out the names written on each one. One by one the recipients of each gift approached Ducky and took the gift from him, stopping to get their photograph taken by Penny.

Once everyone had received their present there was more dancing and drinking until the party finally came to an, but before it did there was an explosion of confetti and a net of balloons was released from above them.

'I know that you're all desperate to get home to do some last minute wrapping and preparation for tomorrow, but before you do I just want to say a few quick thank yous.' Leon said to everyone below him as he stood on the catwalk. 'The first thank you is to Penny Shepard and Abby Sciuto, as without them this party wouldn't have been possible.' He added and collard the two friends towards him.

The whole squad room erupted into cheers and clapping as they walked up the staircase where Leon greeted them both and presented them with a bouquet of flowers each.

'The next thank you is to Doctor Mallard for his participation in this evening's events.' Leon continued as Ducky then also joined them on the catwalk, where he was given a bottle of scotch.

Leon then went on to thank everyone for all their work over the last year, before rounding off the evening by paying tribute to all the agents, including Jenny, who had died in the line of duty that year. He then bid them all good night and a safe journey home before the agents all dispersed.

Gibbs took Penny and Abby home, where they were grateful to finally get of their feet. It had been a great night and they were both elated at how successful it was, but now all they needed was their beds.

'Goodnight Penny.' Abby said as she retired to her bed.

'Good night Abs.' Penny replied sleepily as she watched her friend retire from the living room and up the stairs.

Penny wasn't too far behind her, she just wanted to make sure all the plugs and lights were off, and that the doors were all locked before she went to bed. However, as she went to the front living room curtains to close them, she saw a figure in the dark looking towards the house. She blinked a couple of times and strained her eyes to try and make out who it was, but it was too dark for her to see. She quickly retreated upstairs towards her bed, but before she climbed in she decided to have one last look outside. By the time she got to her bedroom window though, the person outside was gone.

Penny spent the rest of the night tossing and turning, unable to get any sleep. She couldn't get the person outside out of her mind. She wasn't sure what to do for the best, or whether or not she should feel scared. She finally drifted off to sleep in the early hours of the morning, deciding to leave any decision making until after Christmas.

The next morning she was awoken by a very excited Abby, who was happily bouncing around the house singing Christmas songs.

'Come on Penny, it's Christmas, it's Christmas!' She shouted.

Penny finally agreed to get up, not that she could complain too much since it was nearly ten o'clock. She threw off the bed clothes and threw on her dressing gown. They both ran down stairs to open their presents and start on breakfast.

Penny had opened all of her presents within a few minutes, getting a couple of bright coloured sweaters, some jewellery and a few DVDs. With all the mess around her she'd completely forgotten about the box that had been left on the doorstep the previous night; that was until Abby handed it to her.

'Don't forget this one.' She said and Penny accepted it with a weak smile.

She turned it over in her hands a couple of times before she ripped off the paper, revealing a white box. When she opened the box she found a snow globe inside. The globe was ornately decorated with an angel inside and a key underneath to play music. Penny's blood ran cold as she looked at it.

Jenny had been the only one who ever bought her snow globes, it had been their little thing and there were only three people who really knew about this; herself, Gibbs and Jenny.

'Wow Penny that's beautiful, but who's it from?' Abby asked.

'I've no idea; there was no note in the box.' Penny replied, still staring at the item before her.

She twisted the key below and the music began to play, instantly recognised by Penny. It began to play "How great thou art", her favourite hymn; but again there was only one person who knew that.

Penny shook the thoughts from her head, reminding herself that it wasn't possible; after all, Jenny had been killed almost a year ago, so somebody had to have been playing a cruel practical joke on her.

Putting the globe to one side she began to tidy up and get ready for breakfast. She decided to speak to Gibbs later about everything that had been going on in the last couple of days. At least he'd be able to shed some more light on it, or offer the comfort she needed.

Once they'd had a light breakfast both Abby and Penny began to get ready for Ducky's house. They'd heard many times before that Ducky's Christmas dinner was divine, and they both felt privileged to be spending Christmas day with him and the rest of their "family".

At one o'clock everyone began to arrive at Ducky's house, each having brought something with them. Abby and Penny brought the vegetarian option as well as a dessert. Everything looked and smelt heavenly.

'Can I give you hand with anything Ducky?' Penny asked politely.

'You're more than welcome to start putting these out onto the table.' Ducky said as he indicated the dishes on the counter next to him.

She took them through to the dining room and placed them on the table. She noticed Gibbs was sat at the table on his own, glasses perched on his nose, reading the newspaper. It was then she took the opportunity to speak to him about the recent events.

'Gibbs can I get a quick word with you about something?' She asked, a slight quiver to her voice which made Gibbs give her his immediate attention. 'Last night someone left a parcel on my doorstep, but there was no note or card with it. I opened it this morning and someone has sent me a snow globe. The thing is only mom, you and I know that I collect them and the significance of them to me.' She explained.

Gibbs's face contorted with confusion and concern as he began to realise the significance of what Penny was suggesting.

'The other thing is that I'm convinced I'm being watched. I noticed someone last night, and I'm sure there was someone outside the house this morning.' She added quietly.

'I don't want you to worry about it. I'm going to make a few phone calls…' Gibbs began to say but they were interrupted by the arrival of the others as Ducky brought in the turkey.

Neither spoke of the incident further for the rest of the afternoon. The whole team enjoyed their Christmas dinner together and they later played games and watched a couple of films. Before they knew it they were all ready to head home, tired, happily fed and full of Christmas Spirits.

Gibbs took Penny and Abby home, dropping Abby off at her apartment before driving the rest of the way to Penny's. He followed her up to the front door and led her inside. After months of secrecy it was time for Penny to hear the truth about what happened in the Mojave Desert.

'Penny I need you to sit down for a few minutes, there's something I need to talk to you about.' He said as he made her sit in the warmth of the living room.

She looked at him with grave concern, with no idea of what was about to happen, but she knew by his tone that what Gibbs was about to say was serious.

'I need to speak to you about your mom…and about what happened at the diner. You have to understand that we've been trying to protect you for the last seven months, from things we weren't even sure what we were fighting. When your mom realised the danger she was in at Decker's funeral, she tried to deal with the situation on her own, even though she enlisted Mike's help they realised that they were way over their heads, and she was concerned that you were in danger as well. That's when she called me.' He began to explain, making Penny's eyes already prick with tears of betrayal. 'As soon as I got that call I flew out to LA to join them. When Svetlana's men arrived the three of us faced them together, not just your mom. She was shot in the arm, but not fatally.' He added, making Penny's heart skip a beat.

The words that she had just heard played round in her head for a few moments, trying to make sense of what she'd just heard, but no matter how she replayed it she still couldn't understand it.

At that moment the living room door opened and Jenny walked in. Penny stood up from the sofa and stared at the figure before her, the person she'd prayed every night to see again, but never believed she truly would. She quickly raised her hands to her face as her tears ran down her face. She wasn't sure how to feel, angry, upset, relieved…maybe a mix of them all.

Jenny looked at her daughter and felt her own tears stinging at her own eyes. She felt devastated that she was the one who was upsetting her daughter, but she felt so glad that the truth was finally about to be revealed and that all the lying could stop. It now just required a full explanation.


	9. Chapter 9

'I don't understand Gibbs.' Penny said through her tears, still unsure if what she was seeing was actually real.

'I'm sorry Penny, but you have to understand that we did this for your safety…and mine.' Jenny said as she spoke to her daughter for the first time in seven months.

'How could you do this to me? You've both lied to me; and Gibbs you've watched me grieve for almost a year, you've sat there and comforted me and listened to me, knowing all along that she was alive!' Penny shouted at them both.

'Please Penny, you have to…' Jenny began to say before Penny angrily cut her off.

'Don't you dare! I don't…I…you know what, I can't deal with this right now.' She said before she ran passed Jenny and into the warmth and comfort of the study.

Jenny looked at Gibbs as she tried hard to push the tears back into her eyes, but instead they slipped easily down her cheeks. Gibbs walked towards her and held her in a tight embrace, whispering in her ear and kissing her on the forehead.

'It's going to be OK. We both knew this was going to happen, we now just need to find a way to make her understand.' He whispered and Jenny nodded her head.

'Yeah you're right, I just never realised how difficult it was going to be.' She replied as she wiped her eyes and looked at him once more. 'Did she just go into the study?'

Gibbs smiled and gave a very small laugh at her astonishment.

'Yeah she did, a lot has changed in your absence.' He said as he steered her inside the room that she once spent a lot of time in, what now felt a life time ago for her.

They both sat down in the armchairs next to Penny beside the fire. Jenny placed a comforting hand over Penny's and was surprised to find it wasn't pushed away. Penny's sobs slowly began to subside as she looked at her mom, still afraid that she'd wake up to find she'd been a dream.

'Please believe me when I say I'm sorry Pen; we never did any of this to hurt you.' Jenny said and was relieved to see Penny nodding her head slightly.

'So what happened then?' She asked with a shaky tone.

'Well pretty much everything up to the shooting is true. I did make a grave error of judgement back in '99 when I allowed Svetlana to escape alive. I realised that Decker had been murdered when Drantyev mentioned the word oshimida, and I figured that I was going to be next and that Jethro was in danger too. I was trying to protect him as much as you when I contacted Mike Franks for help. The thing is when he found out that Gibbs was in danger as well he insisted on getting him involved.' Jenny explained before breaking off and allowing Gibbs to explain what happened next.

'The phone call I got in the squad room that day, it was from Mike telling me about what had happened; as you know I got on the next flight to LA, but instead of going to Tony and Ziva, as you thought, I joined Jen and Mike at the diner.' He explained and then allowed Jenny to continue.

'We started doing some investigation into Svetlana and her movements since our last meeting. She continued the work that Anatoli Zhukov had started, moving arms throughout Europe, using her import-export business. But her success wasn't enough for her and she came here to seek revenge for those, i.e. us, who had killed Zhukov.' Jenny explained as Penny listened intently.

'That's when we discovered a few things that didn't add up. We realised that Svetlana had to have received information as to our real identities from an NCIS source.' Gibbs filled in.

'So is that what you've been doing the last seven months?' Penny asked.

'Yeah, that and closing down Svetlana's operation. It was surprising how far she'd got with it.' Jenny replied with the tiniest flicker of a smile.

'So what really happened at the diner?'

'We realised that Svetlana was sending her men after us and we weren't sure how much time we had. In truth I just wanted it all to be over…so that I could come home to you.' Jenny said as she broke off, making Penny realise that this situation had been no plain sailing for her either. 'When her men arrived there were four of them and three of us, we picked them off easily; but I got shot, twice in the arm. I wasn't hurt badly, thank God, but it gave us an idea. Svetlana was still out there at the time, and so was her NCIS contact. We figured that if everyone thought I was dead then she wouldn't have any reason to come after me anymore, meaning you'd be safe, and I could secretly investigate her operation and her contact further.'

'But Ziva and Tony said they saw your body.' Penny said with confusion, still trying to make sense of everything.

'They only saw what I wanted them to see.' Gibbs explained. 'Shortly after the fire fight I got a phone call from DiNozzo saying they were concerned for Jenny's safety, that they'd been separated from her and they thought she was in danger. I took the opportunity to begin faking Jenny's death. I told them that I was on the next flight out to them, giving us about five hours to get Jen medical help before I was supposed to arrive.' He added.

'I was out of the hospital after a couple of hours, thankfully, so we drove back to the diner where Mike was keeping watch. I also called Lara Macey for help. We needed someone to help us fake an autopsy report. We also had to call SecNav and explain to him what was actually going on.' Jenny continued as she continuously pushed back the tears in her eyes.

'Once everything was arranged both Mike and I left. I went to meet DiNozzo and Ziva, whereas Mike went to a pre-arranged meeting point to meet Macey. The plan was to let Ziva and Tony see Jen's "body", take a few photographs and then have Macey's ME take Jen away. They came to pick me up from the airport as planned and the three of us drove to the diner, supposedly for the first time. That's when I "found" Jen. I took her pulse, obviously finding one, but telling them that she was dead.' Gibbs explained further.

'But what about all the blood at the scene? I mean mom's that it.' Penny asked.

'Well all the blood on my shirt was real, I'd bled a lot from my wounds, but the blood on the floor was animal blood. Jethro helped stage the scene before he left, then it was just a case of waiting. Once they'd arrived and then the coroner took me away, as far as I was concerned the easy part was over. I hated not being able to say goodbye to you. I wanted to tell you so bad that I was still alive, but as Jethro pointed out, if anyone came looking and started asking questions, your grief had to be real to protect us both. I stayed with Macey for a few days to recuperate before flying off to Europe to begin my investigations, only…'

'…so it was you I saw at the cemetery!' Penny exclaimed in realisation as she remembered the red head she'd seen in the grounds of the cemetery, on the day of her mom's funeral.

'Yeah you did. I ran a big risk coming to the cemetery, but I had to see you, even if was just for a second. I wanted to make sure that you were being looked after.' Jenny explained as a couple of tears ran down her cheek.

'So have you been in Europe all this time?'

'Yeah I've been moving around a lot, trying to shut down Svetlana's operation and investigating who it was in NCIS who told her our true identities.'

'So why are you back now? And is it for good?' Penny asked as she realised that her mom's job may not be over yet.

'Well my mission in Europe is now complete, as far as we know, but my investigation led me back here, to DC.' Jenny replied.

'We still don't know exactly who, but we have a hunch as to who might have betrayed us. We just now have to catch them.' Gibbs added with a coy smile.

'How are we going to do that?' Penny asked with a determined tone, wanting to make sure she was part of their plan.

'We?' Jenny asked with a raised eyebrow.

'Yes, we Jennifer. I want to be part of this now; I want this whole thing to be over so that I can get my mom back. I mean, you will be coming back, won't you?' Penny said until she realised that maybe her wish was quite going to come true.

'Absolutely! I want this to be over so I can come home.' Jenny said as she stood up and held her arms out to her daughter, hoping Penny would now be ready to be held once again, something that she'd missed more than anything else.

Penny leapt from her seat and almost threw herself at her mom. They both allowed their tears to run down their cheeks as they onto each other tightly, neither believing that they were holding on to the other once again. After a few moments Jenny pulled away slightly and placed her hands on Penny's cheeks to look at her daughter.

'I am so sorry for hurting you Penny, please believe me when I say that this was the hardest part of this mission, knowing that I was hurting you.' She said and was relieved to see Penny nodding her head.

'Back to my original question though; how do we intend on catching out the person who put us in this position?' Penny asked again looking from Jenny to Gibbs and back again, noting their small smirks as they looked at each other.


	10. Chapter 10

The plan had already been put in motion long before Penny had even found out about it, but she liked it. It was quick and simple and meant she'd get her mom back to herself shortly; she just had to keep the news to herself for a bit longer.

Gibbs took Penny into work as normal, leaving Jenny at home to work from there, but the silence in the car was beginning to deafen him. Although he usually liked silence, this silence was awkward and that he didn't like. He could tell that his and Jenny's betrayal had hurt her a lot, regardless of their reasons. He knew that she understood their reasons, but it didn't stop it from hurting her any less.

'Is everything alright Penny?' He asked once he couldn't take it anymore.

'Yeah everything is fine.' She replied tonelessly.

He understood why she felt more upset with him than with Jen, he should have expected it, but it didn't make it any easier to deal with. In his usual quick manner, he suddenly pulled the car over to the side of the road and turned to face Penny.

'Let's have it.' He said to her, resulting in a confused look from Penny.

'Have what?' She replied innocently with a look she'd inherited from Jenny. In return he gave her the famous Gibbs look, making it clear he wasn't in the mood to play games. 'Fine! Why didn't you tell me she was alive? Why did you allow me to go through such hell when you knew she was out there somewhere? And why were you so eager to help me through my grief?' She spat angrily.

'Because Penny I made Jen a promise to look after you and keep you safe, and to keep you safe meant keeping her safe too. Believe it or not lying to you has been one of the hardest things I've ever had to do, and it's not something I'm proud of.' He explained.

She felt guilty for feeling angry with him after seeing the sorrow in his eyes. She did understand how difficult it must have been for him, almost as if he had to lead a double life; this did help her feel less betrayed, but it was going to take time before her trust was completely repaired.

'The night I shot Svetlana, I asked you if you still loved my mom. Was your answer true?' She asked, which, under the circumstances, took Gibbs by surprise.

'Yes I did answer that truthfully.' He replied and noticed a small flicker of a smile form on Penny's lips.

'Good, because when all of this is over you should really take her out to dinner or something.' She said.

Gibbs laughed as he pulled the car back onto the road, he'd missed her subtle hints about a reunion between them, but he had to agree that maybe, this time, she was right.

The rest of the journey to NCIS was silent, but not awkward like it had been before, and both were glad of that. When they finally arrived at NCIS, the team were bustling in action.

The team were joined by two Mossad agents, one of whom Penny recognised as Malachi Ben-Gidon, but the female officer she did not recognise. They'd been brought in by Tony, McGee and Ziva on suspicion of acts of terrorism, and were now awaiting interrogation from Gibbs.

'What's going on?' Gibbs asked grumpily. 'What are you doing here?' He said as he turned to Malachi.

'Oh, hey boss. We were just having a pretty good time lying to each other, and I think that was about to boil off actually.' Tony explained.

Malachi inhaled deeply as he received a sharp glance from his female companion, clearly she didn't want him informing the team as to their purposes.

'We're tracking three members of a Palestinian terrorist network.' He explained.

Gibbs realised how this linked to a case they'd been investigating from the early hours of the morning, after the coastguard had shot several people in a fire fight as they were throwing crates overboard. The team had also received information of terrorist activity in the area. Mossad's involvement now made sense.

'Did you follow them from Cuba?' He asked, and received a small nod from Malachi.

'So why are you searching for them in DC?' Ziva asked.

'They're not; they're one step ahead of the assassins already. They're an advance team.' Gibbs said in realisation.

'You're right, they are assassins, and this is where their target will be.' The female officer said.

'Who's their target?' Penny asked, still a little unsure of what was going on.

'Your father is coming; he'll be here in two days.' Malachi explained to Ziva, much to her astonishment.

'My father has not left Israeli soil in twelve years.' Ziva said angrily.

'We're not lying…' The female officer began to say before Gibbs cut them all off.

'Enough! We've got three killers to find.' Gibbs said angrily as he ended any further bickering, before walking off.

'Where's he going?' Malachi asked.

'Coffee!' All four NCIS agents replied as they watched after him.

Gibbs was glad to be away from the building, allowed to be left alone with his thoughts. He should have known that Eli David would pull a stunt like this, especially since he was part of the review conference, arranged by Leon Vance, to go over old cases; in particular the operation started by Vance in '91 and then continued by Jenny and Gibbs in '99.

He was walking back to NCIS, coffees in hand, when a dark vehicle pulled up beside him.

'Officer Hadar, you almost made me spill my coffee.' Gibbs joked dryly as he took a step back.

'Americans, you can never just say hello.' Officer Hadar replied.

'How about Shalom? Hello and goodbye.' Gibbs said as he began walking passed the Mossad officer.

'And peace Agent Gibbs.' Hadar replied, making Gibbs turn. 'Do you have a minute to meet with my director? He's waiting for you.'

Reluctantly Gibbs followed Officer Hadar to a nearby bar, not exactly what he expected but good enough for now. Eli was sat at one of the tables waiting patiently for him as Gibbs sat and joined him.

'Shalom my friend.' He said in greeting.

'Shalom.' Gibbs said in return, although not quite as friendly.

He still blamed Eli for Kate's death. Although he'd not been directly involved, Gibbs blamed Eli for grooming Ari to become a mole within the Hamas terrorist group; had he not done that, then Ari may not have become a terrorist himself and in turn Kate wouldn't have lost her life.

'What brings you to town, Eli?' He asked.

'Loyalty. I was summoned for Vance's review of the international case files, and his request for contributions from every NCIS director. Sadly, not all Leon's predecessors will be present.' Eli explained with a genuinely saddened expression. 'I was very saddened by Jenny Shepard's death. She was truly responsible for bringing our two organisations together, and for bringing my daughter into your life.'

'Director Vance has a suite at the Freemont, he's got a system where he can video conference anyone who could not attend in person; you didn't have to make the trip.' Gibbs replied irritably.

'There is a case…' Eli began to say.

'Amsterdam.'

'Then you do know.'

'Just bits and pieces.'

'For the first time all parties involved will peel back the veil.' Eli replied cryptically. 'It may be necessary for me to defend myself.'

'You should have told us you were coming. Like it or not it's my responsibility to ensure your safety.' Gibbs replied.

'A joint effort I think.' Eli said before nodding acknowledgement to Hadar.

Back at NCIS the team and two Mossad Officers were investigating the three assassins after Eli. Tensions were still high between all concerned, neither party yet trusting the other.

Malachi had just finished explaining about each of the three assassins, the skills of which didn't impress Tony.

'I don't care how many degrees he has, if this guy wants to assassinate Eli he's going to need more than a pistol.'

'Tony it's not the size of the gun…' Ziva began to say before she was cut off by, who Penny now knew to be, Liat.

'…it is the willingness of the shooter.' She said rather smugly.

'Exactly Tony, just look at Sirhan Sirhan. He shot Bobby Kennedy in a very crowded kitchen pantry, surrounded by guards and armed agents, and supposedly alone.' Penny stated.

'Wait, you don't think Sirhan was alone?' McGee asked as he turned to face his friend.

'Definitely not McGee; I mean all the evidence…' Penny began to reply before Gibbs returned and interrupted her.

'If that evidence doesn't relate to this case Penny then I don't want to hear it.' He scorned, although not as harsh as he usually was.

'Right boss.' She replied almost apologetically before turning to McGee 'We shall continue this discussion later.' She whispered to him with a small wink.

'So where we at?' Gibbs asked as he turned to the agents in front of him.

'Well I have a question actually; why isn't the CIA or Secret Service assigned to protect Director David? I mean, wouldn't they be better equipped.' McGee asked.

'Director David doesn't want anyone to know he's here.' Malachi replied.

'And a bang up job you're doing too.' Tony said sarcastically.

'Well how did they find out?' Ziva asked as she pointed at the screen.

Silence then descended around the bullpen as Malachi and Liat looked awkwardly at each other.

'What? No big fat lie already in place?' Penny said with a small smirk before Tony replied.

'You guys really don't know do you?' He said with surprise.

'Well however they found out we're not going to find the answer tonight. Eli is in a safe house; I suggest you all go home, get some rest. We'll reconvene at zero seven hundred tomorrow.' Gibbs said as he sent the agents home.

One by one they all left for the night and Penny couldn't hide how happy she was about the fact. She'd been desperate to get home all day so that she could go home to her mom. She also wanted to get the day over with as quickly as possible, so that the next day could begin.

The next day symbolized the start of Jenny and Gibbs' operation to catch the agent who had betrayed them, and once that was complete, if they caught who they were after, Jenny could finally come home for good and life could resume normality.

She was grateful to Gibbs for giving her a lift home, especially since it had started to rain.

'Are you coming in Gibbs?' She asked as he pulled up outside her house.

'Yeah I am actually; I need to speak to your mom.' He replied as he followed her out of the vehicle and up to the front door.

Penny turned her key in the lock and opened the front door, overwhelmed by the sense of joy she got from seeing the study door open, the lights on and Jenny sat behind the desk. As soon as she saw her daughter's return she went immediately to her and held her tightly.

'How was today?' She asked them both.

'Eli David has rather complicated matters; he arrived in DC today to take part in the review in person.' Gibbs informed her.

'Ah I see. Does Ziva know?'

'Yeah she does. We have to investigate three assassins sent to kill him, meaning that we have to carry out a joint investigation with Mossad.' He advised further.

'Well not to worry Jethro, we'll continue as planned. Although I'm not too sure how we can avoid getting distracted by this threat against Eli.' Jenny replied with concern.

'Whilst you two figure it out, I'm just going to grab a quick shower.' Penny said as she disappeared upstairs.

She felt drained, physically and emotionally. Within a year she'd been put through every emotion imaginable and it still wasn't quite over yet. She prayed that it would all be over soon; she just wanted things to go back to normal, but then she asked herself if that was ever going to be possible.

She wasn't too sure that she could get used to having her mom around again; she'd become so used to her own space and the idea that Jenny was dead. She guessed it was just going to take time for them both to get used to something new.

She felt a lot better after her shower, fresher and more alert, which she figured was going to be necessary. She was just about to head downstairs when she saw Jenny and Gibbs together in the hall. Deciding not to interrupt their moment, she hovered on the landing, watching them through the balusters, unseen and undetected.

'You know once upon a time I'd have asked you to stay and I wouldn't have taken no for an answer.' Jenny said as she looked up at him.

Gibbs looked back at her and considered his options, but realised that now wasn't the right time to be doing this.

'No.' He replied simply.

'What happened Jethro?' She said with a small shrug.

'You made a choice.'

'I had to do what was best for me, still do.' She added with a small smile, hope in her eyes.

As much as he wanted reconciliation with the woman he'd been in love with for over nine years, Jenny needed to be with Penny and to work on their relationship. They'd been apart for so long and Penny had been hurt so much by their actions, it didn't seem right for him to impede on their moment.

He couldn't bear the thought of not giving her a proper answer just now, he wanted to tell her everything, but he had to keep reminding himself that now just wasn't the right time. Instead of replying he just turned and left.

'Why the hell did you let him leave?!' Penny asked as she shot up from her hiding place and ran down the stairs towards Jenny.

'What do you mean?' Jenny asked with a confused laugh.

'We spent three years watching you two tiptoeing round each other, putting up with all the UST and listening to you both argue all the time…'

'Wait what's UST?'

'Unresolved Sexual Tension, UST. And when you "died" I asked him if he still loved you and he said that he did. You should totally be together, because now that you're back I'm not putting up with you not.' Penny ranted with a small smile before an awkward silence descended.

Jenny reached her hand forward and stroked Penny's long hair. She'd missed being able to touch her daughter, even just looking at her. Even though she'd been away less than a year it had felt longer, much, much longer. She could feel tears spring to her eyes and noted that Penny's did too. She pulled her close and held her tightly, wishing that she could dissolve both their pain.

'I really missed you, I hope you know that.' She whispered and felt Penny nod her head. 'I'm so glad to be home, but I know that things aren't going to go back to normal between us over night. That's why I want you, well the both of us, to put in for some leave once everything has been concluded. I want us to go away together for a while. I want to try and put things right between us, because I know that although you're putting on a brave face, you're hurting so much and that's all my fault.' She said still not letting her go.

Penny smiled when she realised that she could smell the sweet scent of her mom's perfume, something that she'd really missed around the house. She couldn't summon the energy to speak, as it was taking her all her time not to cry. She didn't want to open the floodgates, frightened that she'd never stop once they were.

They both stood in the hall and held onto each other tightly for what felt like an age, but neither wanted to let go; Penny was afraid that if she did, she'd wake up to discover it had been a dream and that Jenny would be gone again. Jenny wanted to hold her daughter forever, having missed her more than words could describe. Her body had ached all the time she'd been away just to see Penny's smile, her sparkling green eyes and to hold her safely in her arms.

'Come on, let's get you something to eat; you must be starving by now.' Jenny said as she pulled away from her daughter and led her into the kitchen.

That night Jenny struggled to get to sleep, she felt so restless and plagued by nerves about the upcoming mission, knowing that it would mark the end to her undercover operation. In the next room Penny was also tossing and turning, unsure why she couldn't settle. Realising that she wasn't going to get any sleep soon, she decided to do the one thing that had always helped her as a child.

She climbed out of bed, slipping on her slippers and made for the door in one fluid movement. She lightly knocked on Jenny's door before sneaking in and climbing into the bed beside her mom.

'Can't sleep huh?' Jenny whispered as her daughter settled.

'Nope. Did I disturb you?'

'No I couldn't sleep either.'

After their last exchange of words they both finally drifted off to sleep, comforted by the other's presence and as of they'd never been apart.


End file.
